Nobel Prize-Winning Chemist to Give a Rogow Lecture at the University of Hartford

Sir Harold (Harry) Kroto, the Francis Eppes Professor of Chemistry at Florida State University, where he is developing the Global Educational Outreach for Science, Engineering, and Technology initiative, will speak at the University of Hartford as part of the Rogow Distinguished Visiting Lecture Program. The lecture will take place on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in the University of Hartford’s Wilde Auditorium.

In 1996, Kroto was knighted for his contributions to the field of chemistry and was a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and holds an emeritus professorship at the University of Sussex in Brighton, United Kingdom.

The University of Hartford’s Rogow Lectures are free and open to the public, but tickets are required. To reserve tickets, contact the University box office at 860.768.4228 or 1.800.274.8587

In 1985, Kroto, with Robert Curl, Richard Smalley, and research students at Rice University in Texas, initiated laboratory experiments that simulated the chemical conditions in the atmosphere of red giant stars. These experiments revealed the existence of buckminsterfullerene, a new form of carbon, the discovery of which earned Kroto, Curl, and Smalley the Nobel Prize.

Kroto is currently carrying out research in cluster chemistry and metal organic framework systems. Kroto, who has received numerous other honors and awards, has served on the Board of Scientific Governors at Scripps Institute since 2004.

The Rogow Distinguished Visiting Lecturers Program of the University of Hartford brings celebrated authors, journalists, historians, academics and artists to the Greater Hartford area. The series is part of the wide array of public programming that the University offers, fulfilling an important responsibility to serve the community in which it is a part. Past distinguished visiting lecturers include award-winning reporters, authors and Pulitzer Prize winners.