Nobel Prize Winner to Present Annual Mitsch Lecture

The eighth annual 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Lecture in Chemistry features Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, 2005 Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, and Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He will speak on the topic, "Applications of Olefin Metathesis Catalysts: Fundamental Research to Commercial Products."

It takes place on Friday, November 10 at 12:40 p.m. in Sundin Music Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dr. Grubbs received a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Florida, Gainesville, along with an M.S. and a Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University, New York. He has created over 400 publications and 80 patents. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1989 and also named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1994.

The 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Lectures in Chemistry are part of the 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Endowed Fund in Chemistry, established in 1998 by the 3M Foundation in recognition and appreciation of Dr. Mitsch. The 3M/Ronald A. Mitsch Endowed Fund is intended to promote new connections and pioneering efforts between education and industry as an essential basis for the education of chemists who are prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and beyond. Dr. Mitsch, a 1956 graduate of Hamline University's College of Liberal Arts, began his career at 3M in 1960 as a research chemist and earned 19 patents. In 1998, he retired from 3M as vice chairman of the board and executive vice president of the Industrial and Consumer Sector, Corporate Services.