2005 Nobel Prize winner gives 12th Annual Lloyd B. Thomas Chemistry Scholars Lecture

He just collected the top prize in his field and now this year's Nobel Prize winner in chemistry is coming to the University of Missouri-Columbia to talk about his work. Robert H. Grubbs, Victor and Elizabeth Atkins professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, will be on campus this week to talk to faculty, students and the public about his research that is now widely used for making products ranging from medicines to enhanced fuels.

"As a chemist I'm involved in constructing molecules," Grubbs said. "I developed a new way of putting molecules together in order to quickly and more efficiently create structures."

Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work in the field of olefin metathesis. The advantages of this process include the creation of fewer side products and hazardous waste. It already is being used in a new way of controlling pests without using pesticides. The process is in the final stage of testing for use in pharmaceuticals. Grubbs describes his work as a way to develop environmentally friendly methods of making various items.

The Nobel laureate will lecture on "Drugs, Bugs and Bats: You Never Know Where Fundamental Research Will Take You," at 4 p.m., Friday, Jan. 27, 2006, in the Conservation Auditorium, Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building.

Grubbs earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Florida. After completing his doctorate in chemistry at Columbia University, he spent a year at Stanford University as a postdoctoral fellow, and then joined the Michigan State University faculty in 1969. He has been at Caltech since 1979. Grubbs has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1989.

Grubbs is the lecturer for the 12th annual Lloyd B. Thomas Chemistry Scholars Program. The program was established in 1993 as a tribute to Thomas, who graduated from MU in 1930 and returned to campus as an instructor for his entire professional career. In 1979, he was appointed professor emeritus and was active in chemistry research until his death in 1991.