Richard N. Zare to Present Helen Murray Free Lectures April 23

Public welcome to Technical and Public Presentations at The College of Wooster

Richard Zare

WOOSTER, Ohio - Richard N. Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at Stanford University, will present the second annual Helen Murray Free Lectures at The College of Wooster on Wednesday, April 23, in Room 009 of Severance (Chemistry) Hall (943 College Mall). The technical lecture, titled "Strategies for Problem Solving," will begin at 4 p.m. The public lecture, titled "Cars: Chemistry in Motion," will start at 7:30 p.m. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

Zare, who has an appointment in Stanford's Department of Chemistry and a courtesy appointment in the Department of Physics, is known for his work in the area of lasers applied to chemical reactions and to chemical analysis. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry and physics, and a Ph.D. in chemical physics. He became an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he spent one year before moving on to the University of Colorado at Boulder. Three years later, he was appointed full professor in the Department of Chemistry at Columbia University. In 1977 he moved to Stanford University, where he is presently chair of the chemistry department. Zare is the recipient of many awards, including the National Medal of Science (1983), the Welch Award in Chemistry (1999), and the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2005).

Free is a 1945 College of Wooster graduate and an inductee into the National Inventor's Hall of Fame. Her research in clinical chemistry not only revolutionized diagnostic testing in the laboratory, but also in the home. She developed the "dip-and-read" glucose tests for diabetics, and she was awarded seven patents for her clinical diagnostic test inventions. She also helped to develop a product for diagnosing Hepatitis-A while working for Miles Laboratories. Throughout her career, she has been an active advocate of science education. From 1987 to 1992, she chaired the American Chemical Society's (ACS) National Chemistry Week Task force. In 1980, she was chosen as one of Wooster's Distinguished Alumni Award winners, and in 1993 she was elected president of the ACS. She has authored more than 150 professional articles, and co-authored two widely used textbooks in the field. In addition, she has been recognized in a number of ways, including the awarding of the ACS Garvan Medal and the establishment of the ACS Helen M. Free Public Outreach Award, which was created in her honor.

The Helen Murray Free Endowment was established by her children through the Al and Helen Free Foundation. Income from the Fund brings to the campus each year a renowned woman or man who is a practitioner in the chemical sciences (materials science, nanotechnology, and molecular biology). This scientist interacts with chemistry students at a technical level and presents an all-college lecture about the contributions of science to the quality of life.

Additional information is available by phone (330-263-2418) or e-mail (drossey@wooster.edu).