Endowed Lectures

Five of the Department of Chemistry's endowed funds support lectures. The Borden, Cady, Cross, and Dauben Endowed Lectures are given annually by distinguished scholars in the areas of organic, inorganic, theoretical, and physical chemistry. The Hopkins Award Lecture is presented periodically, in years a Hopkins Award is bestowed to a member of the Department of Chemistry faculty.

Weston T. and Sheila Borden Endowed Lecture in Theoretical Chemistry

This lecture is supported by the Weston and Sheila Borden Endowed Fund in Chemistry, established by the Bordens in 2015.
Weston T. Borden served on the University of Washington chemistry faculty for 31 years. His research involved the use of molecular orbital (MO) theory and MO-based calculations to understand and predict the structures and reactions of organic and organometallic molecules. Sheila Borden received her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. After a year at the University of Oslo, she joined the staff of the Royal Society of Chemistry, where she eventually became managing editor of the RSC's organic chemistry journals. In 2004, she moved to the University of North Texas to lead the JACS Editorial Office.

Borden Lecturers

  • Gregory A. Voth, University of Chicago, 2024
  • Todd Martínez, Stanford University, 2023
  • Martin Head-Gordon, University of California, Berkeley, 2022
  • Sharon Hammes-Schiffer, Yale University, 2020
  • James Skinner, University of Chicago, 2019
  • Laura Gagliardi, University of Minnesota, 2018
  • Kenneth Houk, University of California, Los Angeles, 2017
  • Wes Borden, University of North Texas, 2016

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George H. Cady Endowed Lecture in Inorganic Chemistry

The George H. Cady Endowed Lectureship in Chemistry was established in memory of Prof. Cady by his family and many friends and colleagues in 1994. George H. Cady earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1930 under the direction of Joel H. Hildebrand. Cady held positions at the University of South Dakota, M.I.T., U.S. Rubber Company, and Pittsburgh Plate Glass before joining the UW as assistant professor in 1938. He worked on the Manhattan Project (1942-43), chaired the Department of Chemistry (1961-65), and became professor emeritus in 1972. Prof. Cady was a distinguished inorganic chemist who, among many honors, shared the first Prix Moisson, a prestigious prize named after the father of fluorine chemistry.

Recent Cady Lecturers

  • Jeffrey R. Long, University of California, Berkeley, 2024
  • Andy S. Borovik, University of California, Irvine, 2023
  • Don Tilley, University of California, Berkeley, 2022
  • Melanie Sanford, University of Michigan, 2020
  • Daniel Nocera, Harvard University, 2018
  • Mercouri Kanatzidis, Northwestern University, 2017
  • David Milstein, Weizmann Institute of Science, 2015
  • Thomas Meyer, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, 2014
  • William Tolman, University of Minnesota, 2012
  • Thomas Mallouk, Pennsylvania State University, 2011

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P. C. Cross Endowed Lecture in Physical Chemistry

This lecture is supported by the Paul C. Cross Endowed Fund, dedicated to the memory of Professor Paul C. Cross by his family and many friends and colleagues in 2002.
Prof. Cross was a distinguished physical chemist who led the effort to elevate the UW Department of Chemistry to national prominence when he served as professor and chair from 1949 to 1961. Prof. Cross promoted departmental growth through the expansion of the graduate program, his emphasis on the acquisition and construction of revolutionary new instrumentation, and his encouragement of faculty to secure external federal funding to expand their research programs.

Cross Lecturers

  • Songi Han, Northwestern University: Wednesday, October 2, 2024
  • Keith A. Nelson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2023
  • Richard J. Saykally, University of California, Berkeley, 2022
  • Xiaowei Zhuang, Harvard University, 2021
  • George Schatz, Northwestern University, 2019
  • Mark Johnson, Yale University, 2017
  • Xiaoyang Zhu, Columbia University, 2016
  • William E. Moerner, Stanford University, 2015
  • Martin Gruebele, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2014
  • Michael Wasielewsi, Northwestern University, 2013
  • Louis E. Brus, Columbia University, 2012
  • Richard Mathies, University of California, Berkeley, 2011
  • Mark Ratner, Northwestern University, 2010
  • Moungi Bawendi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009
  • William H. Miller, University of California, Berkeley, 2008
  • Eric J. Heller, Harvard University, 2007
  • Stephen R. Leone, University of California, Berkeley, 2006
  • Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, Harvard University, 2005
  • Benjamin Widom, Cornell University, 2004
  • Graham R. Fleming, University of California, Berkeley/LBNL, 2000
  • Richard R. Ernst, ETH Zurich, 1999
  • Julia S. Higgins, Imperial College London, 1997
  • Larry R. Dalton, University of Southern California, 1996
  • Richard Zare, Stanford University, 1993
  • A. David Buckingham, University of Cambridge, 1992
  • U. R. P. Wild, ETH Zurich, 1991
  • Alan Sargeson, Australian National University, 1988
  • Robert O. Watts, Australian National University, 1985
  • Martin Karplus, Harvard University, 1984
  • Andreas C. Albrecht, Cornell University, 1982
  • E. Bright Wilson, Jr., Harvard University, 1981
  • Bryce L. Crawford, Jr., University of Minnesota, 1980

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Hyp J. Dauben, Jr. Endowed Lecture in Organic Chemistry

This lecture is supported by the Hyp J. Dauben, Jr. Memorial Fund, established in memory of Prof. Dauben by his family, friends, colleagues, and students in 1968.
Hyp J. Dauben, Jr. received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Ohio State University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Washington in 1945, and until his death in 1968, he played a major role in the development of the Department’s research facilities. Professor Dauben was internationally renowned for his research on nonbenzenoid aromatic compounds, carbocations, and reaction mechanisms.

Recent Dauben Lecturers

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Paul B. Hopkins Endowed Faculty Award in Chemistry

The Paul B. Hopkins Endowed Faculty Award Fund in Chemistry was established in 2003 by Professor Emeritus B. Seymour Rabinovitch to honor the achievements of Paul B. Hopkins, professor emeritus of chemistry and chair of the Department of Chemistry from 1995-2015. It is the donor's preference that this fund supports an award to honor outstanding accomplishments made by a member of the Chemistry faculty in any area of professional responsibility. The donor’s further intent is that this award will bring the recipient’s work to the attention of the greater University community while fostering fellowship among faculty and students. Awardees are asked to present the Paul Hopkins Faculty Award Lecture during the year the award was bestowed.

Hopkins Award Recipients

  • Daniel Gamelin, 2023
  • Deborah Wiegand, 2022
  • Larry R. Dalton, 2015
  • B. S. Rabinovitch (posthumous), 2014
  • Karen I. Goldberg, 2012
  • Michael H. Gelb, 2010
  • Alvin L. Kwiram, 2008
  • Charles T. Campbell, 2007
  • František Tureček, 2006
  • James Mayer, 2005

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