Dr Peter Stang from the University of Utah (US) gave the third talk at the 2016-2017 Distinguished Lecture Series of Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq).
Dr Stang is a distinguished professor in the Department of Chemistry, the David P Gardner Presidential Chair and former president of the University of Utah. An international leader in the fields of physics, organic, inorganic and petroleum chemistry, he is renowned for significantly advancing organic chemistry during the past five decades.
Dr Stang and his team act as molecular architects who rearrange the building blocks of chemistry to create new and better products to serve advanced medicine, information storage and energy. His contributions have led to significant development of materials for advanced medicine, energy applications and other such benefits to society.
In his talk, ‘Having Fun with Molecules,’ he discussed how easy it can be to create very complex and potentially very useful molecules through very simple self-assembly processes, which are “self-healing and self-correcting — that’s why nature uses it!” One real-world application of building molecules through self-assembly is the most widely used anti-tumour agent, Cisplatin.
Dr Stang has won several awards and recognitions including the Priestley Medal, National Medal of Science, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Organic Chemistry Paul G Gassman Distinguished Service Award, and the ACS FA Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research. He has been named a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of AAAS and JSPS.
Tamuq’s Distinguished Lecture attracts world-class experts to campus, encouraging discourse among faculty and researchers in Education City and the local community on important topics in science, engineering and technology.