Professor Richard N. Zare
Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor of Natural Science
Department of Chemistry, Stanford University
Lecture (4:00 pm, University of Nevada campus)
Chemical Fizzics: All About Bubbles
Banquet (7:00 pm, Bricks Restaurant and Wine Bar)
with after-dinner remarks by Dr. Zare
RICHARD N. ZARE is the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at Stanford University. He was born on November 19, 1939 in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a graduate of Harvard University, where he received his B.A. degree in chemistry and physics in 1961 and his Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1964. In 1965 he became an assistant professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but moved to the University of Colorado in 1966, remaining there until 1969 while holding joint appointments in the departments of chemistry, physics and astrophysics. In 1969 he was appointed to a full professorship in the chemistry department at Columbia University, becoming the Higgins Professor of Natural Science in 1975. In 1977 he moved to Stanford University. Professor Zare is renowned for his research in the area of laser chemistry, resulting in a greater understanding of chemical reactions at the molecular level. By experimental and theoretical studies he has made seminal contributions to our knowledge of molecular collision processes and contributed very significantly to solving a variety of problems in chemical analysis. His development of laser induced fluorescence as a method for studying reaction dynamics has been widely adopted in other laboratories. In May of 1998, Professor Zare finished serving a six-year term on the National Science Board, the last two of those years as its Chairman. For his work as Chairman, the Board approved a special citation in his honor and presented him with the Distinguished Service Award later that year. Also in 1998, he ended a three-year appointment as a council member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, received the ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry, and was awarded Harvard University's Centennial Medal. In 1997, Professor Zare was named California Scientist of the Year and was awarded NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement Award. In 1983, Professor Zare received the National Medal of Science. He is a member of the editorial advisory boards of a number of prestigious journals and has authored and co-authored over 650 publications.