Herbert C. Brown lectures to attract top chemists to campus

The lectures, which will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Stewart Center, Room 218 A-B, will share the theme of "Organic Synthesis: Past, Present and Future."

The lecture series is named for Herbert C. Brown, a 1979 Nobel laureate and Purdue's Wetherill Research Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, who died in 2004. Ei-ichi Negishi, the Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Organic Chemistry, said Brown was a longtime mentor of his and deserves recognition for his skill and accomplishments in the field.

"Dr. Brown was the only Nobel Prize winner Purdue has ever had and one of only two in the state of Indiana," he said. "He was one of the best, most influential and most creative researchers in the field of organic chemistry. He was a true great."

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Speakers and lecture topics are:

9:15-10 a.m. — Laura L. Kiessling, University of Wisconsin, "Exploiting Multivalency through Chemical Synthesis."

10:30-11:15 a.m. — David N. Reinhoudt, University of Twente, the Netherlands, "Writing with Molecules on Molecular Printboards."

11:15 a.m.-noon — Gilbert Stork, Columbia University, "Chemical Reminiscences."

2:20-3:05 p.m. — Jan-E. Bäckvall, Stockholm University, Sweden, "Recent Advances in Combination of Metal and Enzyme Catalysis for Asymmetric Synthesis."

3:35-4:20 p.m. — Johann Mulzer, University of Vienna, Austria, "Total Synthesis of Cyclic Natural Products."

A luncheon will take place at noon in the Sagamore Room of the Purdue Memorial Union. The cost is $10, and reservations are required. A banquet is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Lafayette Country Club, 1500 S. Ninth St. The cost is $25 and reservations are required.

Negishi said the lecture series is an appropriate way to honor Brown's legacy, as the event allows the campus community to interact with distinguished leaders in chemistry.

Since the lecture series began in 1984, four of the speakers went on to receive Nobel Prizes in chemistry. Last year, Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock received Nobel Prizes. Grubbs was a Brown lecturer in 1996 and 2002, and Schrock was a lecturer in 1996. And in 2001, Ryoji Noyori, a 1991 speaker, and K. Barry Sharpless, a 1985 speaker, received the Nobel Prize.

Derek H.R. Barton, who received a Nobel Prize in 1969, spoke at the lecture series in 1988.

"As one of the premiere programs in this department, the lecture series has the ability to bring top-notch scientists in the field to Purdue," Negishi said. "And it's all thanks to Herbert Brown and his wife, Sarah, who endowed the lectures to make sure they will continue for years to come."

The Browns also endowed the H. C. Brown Distinguished Chairship and the H. C. Brown Center for Borane Research. Sarah died in 2005.

To register, contact Negishi at (765) 494-5301, negishi@purdue.edu; P.V. Ramachandran at (765) 494-5303, chandran@purdue.edu; or Cindy Morris at (765) 494-6855, cmorris@purdue.edu.

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: Ei-ichi Negishi, (765) 494-5301, negishi@purdue.edu

P.V. Ramachandran, H.C. Brown lectureship committee co-chairman, (765) 494-5303, chandran@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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