Skip to main content
Intellect

Distinguished Harvard chemist to present BYU lectures Nov. 3-4

Harvard University professor of chemistry George M. Whitesides will present two lectures during a visit to Brigham Young University Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 3-4.

Whitesides will deliver the third annual Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen Lecture, “Simple Solutions in Medical Diagnostics in Developing Countries,” Tuesday at 7 p.m. in B094 Joseph F. Smith Building. He will also offer a more in-depth, technical presentation, titled “Complexity and Emergence in Dynamically Self-Assembling Systems,” Wednesday at 4 p.m. in W140 Benson Science Building.

Both lectures, sponsored by the BYU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, are open to the general public. Admission is free.

Author of nearly 1,000 scientific articles and the holder of more than 50 patents, Whitesides is the most cited living chemist. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the Welch Award in Chemistry, the Prince of Asturias Award in Science and Technology and the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry. He also received the Priestley Medal in 2007, the highest honor conferred by the American Chemical Society.

Whitesides has held post at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, where he maintains an active lab and research group comprised of more than 35 graduate and postdoctoral students. Whitesides received an artium baccalaureus degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D from the California Institute of Technology.

For more information, contact Brent Hall at (801) 422-4501 or at brenth@byu.edu.

Writer: Ricardo Castro

whitesides_web.jpg
Photo by Ryan Woodward

Related Articles

data-content-type="article"

Forum: BYU 150 president's panel

November 18, 2025
Today’s special forum featured a panel discussion with current BYU President C. Shane Reese and previous Presidents Kevin J Worthen, Cecil O. Samuelson and Merrill J. Bateman.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

Duo of BYU professors named to list of world's most influential researchers

November 13, 2025
Two Brigham Young University professors have been named as two of the most influential researchers in the world, with one earning the distinction for the first time and another extending a years-long streak on the list.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
data-content-type="article"

BYU research: Mega wildfires can actually be a good thing

November 04, 2025
BYU professor Sam St. Clair is the principal investigator on the first study to show positive impacts of megafires (fires greater than 100,000 acres) across different forest types. Megafires can help some forest communities thrive — especially in areas where chronic browsing by elk, deer, and livestock has hindered tree regeneration, a widespread issue that often leads to forest regeneration failure.
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText= promoTextAlignment=
overrideBackgroundColorOrImage= overrideTextColor= promoTextAlignment= overrideCardHideSection=false overrideCardHideByline=false overrideCardHideDescription=false overridebuttonBgColor= overrideButtonText=