Wednesday, November 15, 1995
The Faculty Club
The University of Cincinnati

Presentation of the 1995 Oesper Award
Gregory R. Choppin
Florida State University

"Man, Atoms, and Rays"
Paul Caro
Director of Research
CNRS
Paris, France

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About the Speakers

Gregory R. Choppin

Professor Gregory R. Choppin was born in Texas in 1927. He received his B.S. degree in chemistry from Loyola University of the South and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Austin. From 1953 to 1956 he was a postdoctoral research associate the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory where he worked with Glenn T. Seaborg and his team on new elements. During that time he was a co-discoverer of Element 101, Mendelevium. In 1956 he accepted appointment to the faculty in the Department of Chemistry at Florida State University where he was promoted to full Professor in 1963. He served as Chair of the Department from 1968-1977 and 1993-1994. In 1968 he was appointed the R. O. Lawton Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. He spent sabbatical years at the Center for Nuclear Energy in Belgium , and at the Institute for Transuranium Elements in Germany. He has served as Visiting Lecturer at the University of Liege, Ain Shams University (Egypt), the University of Oporto, and the Science University of Tokyo.

The interest in the actinide elements and in radiochemistry that Choppin developed during his postdoctoral appointment at Berkeley has continued to be the primary focus of his research interests. At FSU he initiated a program in the behavior in aqueous solution of the lanthanide and actinide elements. This interest in solution chemistry has been directed to the thermodynamic changes of complexes with both organic and inorganic ligands.

Choppin has received a number of awards in recognition of his contributions to chemical research. He has been given honorary degrees by Loyala University and Chalmers University (Sweden). He has also received an Alexander Von Humbolt U.S. Senior Scientist Award, ACS Award for Nuclear Chemistry, The Seaborg Award in Separation Science, the Southern Chemist Award of ACS, the Gold Medal of the Florida Academy of Sciences, and a Presidential Citation for Outstanding service to Nuclear Science and Technology by the American Nuclear Society.

Paul Caro

Dr. Caro was born and educated in Paris. He graduated from the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie and the Sorbonne in 1955. He entered CNRS to work on rare earth separations under Professor Felix Trombe. After a thesis, Dr. Caro worked for a while on solar energy and then on rare earth solid state chemistry as a postdoctoral associate in the U.S. at Arizona State University with Leroy Eyring and at Iowa State University with John Corbett. After returning to France to be Deputy Director and later Director of a CNRS laboratory, he turned his research interests to rare earth spectroscopy in the condensed state using high resolution absorption and dye laser technology for experimental data and computers for simulating physical properties such as optical spectra (absorption or fluorescence) or paramagnetic data. Dr. Caro became a specialist of lanthanide's crystal fields in a variety of materials and transferred some of the practice on f-elements to a few d-transition elements' problems. With his coworkers, he also was interested in high resolution electron microscopy on rare earth materials in thin films, mostly oxides ( and the extended defects). He was involved for a number of years in the organization of rare earth meetings in the USA and throughout the world. Meanwhile he was involved (by chance) in science popularization through a monthly column in the Sunday edition of the Parisian newspaper "Le Monde." He later worked for some time on a prime-time science television show for French TV, radio chronicles, and the writing of a few books for the general public. This work landed a proposal by French Authorities to take full-time charge of scientific problems at Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie. Since 1989 he has been the "Délégué aux Affaires Scientifiques" of this public Institution, and now, is an expert on the problems associated with science popularization (and practice...). Dr. Caro is a Corresponding Member of the French Academy of Sciences. He is also in charge of the Newsletter for CNRS.

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Program

5:30 DISCUSSION GROUPS:

6:15 SOCIAL HOUR

7:00 DINNER

8:00 Presentation of the Oesper Award to Gregory R. Choppin
Man, Atoms, and Rays", Dr. Paul Caro, Director of Research, CNRS

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Dinner

Cost $29.00
Dinner Menu: Choice of Entree

Garden Salad, Chef's Choice of Vegetable and Potato, Breadsticks, Strawberry Shortcake, Beverages

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Reservations

Call the Section answering line at 576-3187 or send by Internet e-Mail to ashingdt@basf.com giving your name (including spelling), professional affiliation, and your entree choice. Reservations are due by 12 noon, November 13. If difficulty is encountered, please call Deanna Ashing at 576-3124. Payment will be received at the door. Emeritus, unemployed, new and student members are half price.

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Directions

From I-75, take the Hopple Street Exit and turn left onto Hopple. Hopple becomes Martin Luther King Blvd. Follow Martin Luther King to U. C. The Visitor Parking is located under the Library Garage. Discussion Groups meeting in Crosley Tower (Chemistry Dept.) and the Social Hour/Dinner is in the Faculty Club.

To return to the local section page.

Prepared on November 8, 1995 by nauss@ucmod2.che.uc.edu.