 History of Evans lecture
The Evans Lecture at Ohio State University was established in 1961 upon the dedication of Evans Laboratory, in recognition of the late William Lloyd Evans for his distinguished service to the Department of Chemistry. Each year, a faculty committee has been charged with selecting a chemist of outstanding international stature to receive the Evans Award and present the Evans Lecture.
William Lloyd Evans (b. 1871) received the M.S. degree in 1896 from Ohio State and joined the Chemistry Department faculty in 1905 after having received his Ph.D. degree that year under Professor Ulric Nef at the University of Chicago. As an Assistant Professor in charge of the course in General Chemistry, “Billy” Evans was soon recognized as an especially effective and inspiring teacher. He rose to the rank of Full Professor in 1911, and his service to the Department was interrupted only by a two-year period of military service during World War I at Edgewood Arsenal. In 1928, he was named Chairman, succeeding Professor William McPherson.
During his tenure as Chairman, a post that he held until 1941, he steered the Department toward increased emphasis on graduate research. He encouraged the development of a strong research-oriented faculty and the expansion of research through involvement of outside industry and government agencies in sponsored programs. Following his retirement in 1941, Professor Evans was elected President of the American Chemical Society, and he continued his work in chemistry during active retirement until his death in 1954 at the age of 83.
The following people have given the Evans Lecture in previous
years. (Year of Nobel Prize in Chemistry indicated in parentheses.):
1962 Prof. Linus Pauling (1954)
1963 Prof. Louis Fieser
1964 Prof. Henry Eyring
1965 Prof. Glenn T. Seaborg (1951)
1966 Prof. Neil Bartlett
1967 Prof. Frank Westheimer
1968 Prof. Konrad Bloch
1969 Prof. Michael Kasha
1970 Prof. Ronald Nyholm
1971 Prof. H. Gobind Khorana
1972 Prof. E. J. Corey (1990)
1973 Prof. Frank A. Cotton
1974 Prof. William Lipscomb (1976)
1975 Prof. Leslie Orgel
1976 Prof. Derek Barton (1969)
1977 Prof. Michael Dewar
1978 Prof. Gerhard Herzberg (1971)
1979 Prof. Frederick Sanger (1958,1980)
1980 Prof. Christian Anfinsen (1972)
1981 Prof. William Klemperer
1982 Prof. John A. Pople (1998)
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1983 Prof. Vladimir Prelog (1975)
1984 Prof. Richard Zare
1985 Prof. Henry Taube (1983)
1986 Prof. Donald J. Cram (1987)
1987 Prof. Fred W. McLafferty
1988 Prof. Howard K. Schachman
1989 Prof. Jean-Marie Lehn (1987)
1990 Prof. Rudolph A. Marcus (1992)
1991 Prof. Harden McConnell
1992 Prof. George M. Whitesides
1993 Prof. George A. Olah (1994)
1994 Prof. John S. Waugh
1995 Prof. Peter G. Schultz
1996 Prof. Richard E. Smalley (1996)
1997 Prof. Harry B. Gray
1998 Prof. Koji Nakanishi
1999 Prof. Ahmed H. Zewail (1999)
2000 Prof. Alexander Pines
2001 Prof. W. Carl Lineberger
2002 Prof. Christopher T. Walsh
2003 Prof. Tobin Marks
2004 Prof. Robert S. Langer
2005 Prof. Mark A. Ratner
2006 Prof. Julius Rebek Jr.
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On this occasion, the Department of Chemistry also hosts faculty members and students
from chemistry departments of colleges and universities within the state of
Ohio and its surroundings. The visitors tour the facilities, attend the
Evans Lecture, and learn about various research activities taking place in
the OSU Chemistry Department from a presentation of posters by OSU chemistry
graduate students and short lectures by the chemistry faculty.
This year's lecture
Information on Nobel Prizes
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