Foundation News

John Tully Awarded Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in Theoretical Chemistry

John Tully, Sterling Professor of Chemistry at Yale University and Advisor to the Dreyfus Foundation, will be awarded the 2010-11 Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in Theoretical Chemistry. Given annually by the Theoretical Chemistry Institute and Department of Chemistry at University of Wisconsin-Madison, the prize is among the most prominent in the field.  Dr. Tully will present three Hirschfelder lectures at the university during October 4-6, 2010. 

 

Related links: John Tully, Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize

 

Richard N. Zare Honored with 2010 Priestley Medal and Presidential Award

Richard N. Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at Stanford University and Advisor to the Dreyfus Foundation, has won the 2010 Priestley Medal, the highest honor of the American Chemical Society.

Zare is also a recipient of a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, for which he was honored by President Obama at the White House on January 6, 2010.

Related links:

C&E News: http://pubs.acs.org

NSF press release: http://nsf.gov

The Zare lab: www.stanford.edu

 

JoAnne Stubbe Selected to Receive the National Medal of Science

Dreyfus Advisor (2010) and Novartis Professor of Chemistry at MIT JoAnne
Stubbe has received the 2009 National Medal of Science, the nation's top
science honor. The announcement by President Barack Obama cited her work
in understanding the mechanisms of enzymes that play an essential role
in DNA replication and repair. Upon learning the news, MIT President
Susan Hockfield stated, "Professor JoAnne Stubbe is a scientist's
scientist: fiercely intelligent, doggedly curious, and unbending in her
pursuit of truth. We are extraordinarily proud that she has received the
National Medal of Science for her pioneering work in advancing our
understanding of the chemistry at the root of life."

President Obama presented the award to Stubbe and eight other scientists during an October 7 White House ceremony.

"It's a little overwhelming, and a great honor," said Stubbe. "For the first time, everybody in my family is excited about what I do," she joked.

Related links:

MIT Press release: http://web.mit.edu

Stubbe laboratory: http://web.mit.edu/biochemistry/

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JoAnne_Stubbe

 

Henry C. Walter elected President of Board of Directors, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation

Mr. Henry C. Walter was elected President of the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation by the Board of Directors at the 2009 annual meeting.

Mr. Walter was first elected to the Board in 1978. He had served as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee since 1990 and Treasurer of the Foundation since 2002. He received his BSE in chemical engineering from Princeton University and his MBA from Harvard University.

Dorothy Dinsmoor, who had served as Foundation President since 1991, will serve as Vice President and Secretary.

John R. H. Blum is Treasurer and chair of the Finance and Audit Committee. He previously served as Vice President and Secretary.

Related link:

Board of Directors: http://www.dreyfus.org/board.shtml

 

David E. Hansen Named Inaugural Dean of Joint Science Department

David E. Hansen, a former Advisor to the Dreyfus Foundation, has
been named the inaugural Dean of the Joint Science Department, a
partnership between Claremont McKenna, Scripps, and Pitzer colleges, as
of July 1, 2009. "Housing biology, chemistry, and physics, the Joint
Science Department is the embodiment of interdisciplinary science and
the future of science education, and I am honored to have been chosen as
its new dean." Hansen said. Dr. Hansen formerly served as the Rachel and Michael Deutch Professor of Chemistry at Amherst College.

 

Related links:

Press release: http://www.cmc.edu/news

Hansen profile: http://www.amherst.edu/people/facstaff/dehansen

 

Matthew Tirrell to join UC Berkeley as new chair of bioengineering

Matthew V. Tirrell, an Advisor to the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, has been appointed chair of the Department of Bioengineering in the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, effective July 1, 2009. Dr. Tirrell had served as dean of engineering at University of California, Santa Barbara, since 1999. UC Berkeley Chancellor Dr. Robert J. Birgeneau said, "Matt Tirrell has been a leader in connecting basic research to applied problems and technology innovation. At UC Berkeley, he will lead our bioengineering research and education, strengthening their impact not only on health, but also on agriculture, energy and the environment. I am absolutely delighted that Matt is joining us as a faculty colleague and an administrator."

Related links:

UC Berkeley press release: http://www.berkeley.edu
The Tirrell Group: http://www.chemengr.ucsb.edu/

 

Climate, Energy, and the Changing Environment: A Dreyfus Foundation Symposium on Environmental Chemistry Research

Agenda:

Session I, Chair: Francois Morel, Princeton University

James Anderson, Harvard University
Strategic choices for global energy: Constraints from feedbacks in the climate system

Kimberly Prather, University of California, San Diego
New insights into the role of aerosols in climate change

Dianne Newman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
From iron oxides to infections: Roles for redox-active antibiotics in microbial survival and development

Session II, Chair: Beatrice Renault, New York Academy of Sciences

Paul Anastas, Yale University
Transformative innovations in green chemistry needed for sustainability

Eric Jacobsen, Harvard University
Selective yet general catalysts

Session III, Chair: John Seinfeld, California Institute of Technology

Nathan Lewis, California Institute of Technology
Artificial photosynthesis: Fuel from the sun

Daniel Nocera, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The chemistry of renewable energy

Session IV, Chair: John Brauman, Stanford University

Ralph Cicerone, National Academy of Sciences
Putting science to work in developing science policy

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS