Nobel Laureate to Speak on ‘Chemistry as a Liberal Art’

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Dudley Herschbach will give two free public lectures at the UW–Madison campus Jan. 30-31, including his reflections on the “liberal art” of teaching freshman chemistry.

Herschbach, a Harvard University chemistry professor, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1986 for his advances of molecular beam chemistry. He is also an acclaimed science educator who serves on the advisory board of the National Institute for Science Education, housed at UW–Madison.

On Friday at 2:30 p.m., Herschbach will deliver the talk “The Thirteenth Labor of Hercules: Reflections and Evangelical Commentary on Teaching Freshman Chemistry.” The talk will draw from his 15 years experience in the classroom teaching freshmen. The talk is in room 1361 of the Farrington Daniels Chemistry Building, 1101 University Ave.

His “evangelical mission,” as he describes it, is to promote the achievement of science literacy by all students. Herschbach’s teaching is accented with illustrations and an interactive style that helps students visualize chemistry.

Another lecture at 3:30 p.m. Thursday is directed more to professional scientists. The talk “Let There Be Light: Genesis of Sodium Nightflow and Meteor Trails,” will look at intriguing new questions in the field of electronic stereodynamics. The talk will be in room B371 of the Farrington Daniels Chemistry Building.

The lectures are sponsored by UW–Madison chemistry department. For more information, contact chemist Bassam Shakhashiri at (608) 262-0538, or check his World Wide Web site at http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu.

Herschbach will also be featured on the Ideas Network of Wisconsin Public Radio, 970 AM in Madison, at 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 31.