Lectures

The Helen Murray Free Endowed Lecture Series

Helen Murray Free, a 1945 College of Wooster graduate and a pioneering scientist who was inducted into the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame in 2000, was honored with the inaugural Helen Murray Free Endowed Lecture, featuring Dr. Mary Lowe Good.

The lecture series was established by Helen’s children and endowed through the Al and Helen Free Foundation. Each year, this endowed fund brings a renowned chemical scientist to campus to interact with chemistry students at a technical level and present an all-college convocation on the contributions of science to the quality of life.

Free, whose research in clinical chemistry not only revolutionized diagnostic testing in the laboratory, but also in the home, developed the “dip-and-read” glucose tests for diabetics. She was awarded seven patents for her clinical diagnostic test inventions, and also helped to develop a product for diagnosing Hepatitis ‘A’ while working for Miles Laboratories. In addition, she provided invaluable leadership in the testing of newborn infants for genetic or metabolic disorders that might lead to mental retardation.

Throughout her career, Free 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; in 1992 she received an honorary degree from Wooster; and in 1993 she was elected president of the American Chemical Society.

Free has authored more than 150 professional articles, and co-authored two widely used textbooks in the field. Her accomplishments have been recognized in a number of ways, including the awarding of the ACS Garvan Medal and the Professional Achievement Award in Nuclear Medicine from the American Society for Medical Technology, as well as the establishment of the ACS Helen M. Free Public Outreach Award.

Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021

Raychelle Burks, associate professor of chemistry at American University and a popular science communicator who has appeared on TV, in podcasts, and at large genre cons such as DragonCon and GreekGirlCon

• Scientific Talk: llicit indications: colorimetric and fluorometric visualizations for forensic science at 11 a.m. in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.)

This talk will focus on her team’s use of colorimetric and fluorometric sensors or sensor arrays, paired with image analysis, to detect and/or visualize targets of forensic interest such as illicit drugs, explosives, chemical weapons, and latent prints.

• Public lecture: Monsters, Murder, and Marvel at 7:30 p.m. in Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center (525 E. University St.)

This talk will explore what pop culture/fandoms teaches Burks about science, teaching, and learning. It’s a bit of a personal journey with some education and sci-comm research, science, and lots of pop culture references.

Both lectures are free and open to the public. Mask are required to be worn in all campus buildings.

Biography: After working in a crime lab, Burks returned to academia, teaching, and research. Her research team is focused on the development of colorimetric and luminescent sensor arrays for the detection of analytes of mainly forensic and national security interest.

In addition to writing a science-meets-true crime column called “Trace Analysis” for Chemistry World in 2020, she was awarded the James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public by the American Chemical Society. Committed to making STEM accessible and equitable for all, Burks is a member of local, national, and international working groups focused on social justice and STEM.

News Release

Past Lecturers

2021:

Malika Jeffries-EL, Ph.D. associate dean, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, associate professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering, Boston University

• Scientific Talk: Design and synthesis of organic electronic materials
• Public lecture: Taking the Road Less Travelled: My Journey to the Ivory Tower

2020:

Geraldine (Geri) Richmond, Presidential Chair of Science and professor of chemistry, University of Oregon

• Technical Lecture: Surf, Sink or Swim: Understanding Environmentally Important Processes at Water Surfaces
• Public Lecture: The Importance of Global Scientific Engagement

2018:

Joseph S. Francisco, President’s Distinguished Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania

• Technical Lecture: From Atmospheric Complexes to Aerosols: New Insights into Atmospheric Chemistry
• Public Lecture: How We Can Rebuild Trust in Science— And Why We Must

2017:

Bassam Z. Shakhashiri,The William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea, Department of Chemistry; Director, Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison; President, the American Chemical Society, 2012.

• Technical Lecture: Science and Society: Our Opportunities and Responsibilities
• Public Lecture: Science Is Fun and The Joy of Learning

2016:

Madeleine Jacobs,President & CEO, Council of Scientific Society Presidents, Former Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the American Chemical Society.

• Morning Lecture: Ten Lessons of a Lifetime of Science
• Evening Lecture: The Two Cultures, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

2015:

Ned Heindel, H.S. Bunn Chair Professor of Chemistry at Lehigh University and a consultant on drug development for Azevan Pharmaceuticals.

2014:

Paul Anderson, Retired Senior Vice President of chemical and physical sciences for the DuPont-Merck Pharmaceuticals Company.

2013:

Susan Solomon, Ellen Swallow Richards Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

2012 Fall:

Sam Niedbala, Professor of practice in the Chemistry Department at Lehigh University and CEO of DeTect Biosciences LLC.

2012  Spring:

Catherine Hunt, R&D Director of Innovation Sourcing and Sustainable Technologies at The Dow Chemical Company.