Sir
Harold W. Kroto, a 1996 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, will lecture at the
Jacksonville University campus on Oct. 15.
An ardent advocate for science education, Kroto
devotes much of his time to promoting careers in science among young people. He has been the Florida State University Francis Eppes
Professor of Chemistry since 2004 after teaching at the University of Sussex in
England for 37 years. He also is a British knight.
Kroto’s
presentation, titled “Science and Creativity,” is at 4 p.m. at Gooding
Auditorium; the event is free and the public is invited.
Kroto
shared the Nobel Prize with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley based on their discovery of
buckminsterfullerene, a form of pure carbon better known as “buckyballs.” The
extraordinary molecule consists of 60 carbon atoms arranged as a spheroid in a
pattern exactly matching the stitching on soccer balls.
At
FSU, Kroto has established a global educational outreach to develop new ways of using the Internet to get children all over the
world excited about science and willing to work together to address some of
humanity's most pressing problems.
At
JU, Kroto will talk about what inspired him in his childhood and youth to
pursue science; the preparation, diligence and serendipity which led to the discovery
of fullerenes; and his vision of the future of nanoscience and nanotechnology,
said Dr. Joseph Cradlebaugh, JU’s Chemistry Department chair.
Cradlebaugh
said science students and enthusiasts young and old will enjoy Kroto’s
presentation and experience a brush with history, the joy of insight and a
sense of the future.
For more information, contact Cradlebaugh at jcradle@ju.edu.