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Sept. 15, 2015 – Robert H. Grubbs, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005, will present the 24th annual Lord Lecture at Allegheny College at 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21 in Ford Chapel on the Allegheny campus. The talk, which is open to the public, will take catalysis and sustainable processes as its topic.

Supported through an endowed fund established by the Thomas Lord Charitable Trust, the Lord Lecture has been bringing the nation’s most distinguished chemists and practitioners of related disciplines to Allegheny College annually since 1991. The fund is closely linked to Lord Corporation, a major manufacturer of adhesives, rubber chemicals and other products.

In addition to being a Nobel Laureate, Grubbs has received the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry, the Pauling Award Medal, the Havinga Medal, the Golden Plate Award from the Academy of Achievement, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Chemists and eight awards from the American Chemical Society.

The Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, Grubbs has more than 560 publications to his credit as well as 126 patents based on his research.

Grubbs’ research group discovers new catalysts – which facilitate the transformation of organic molecules and are used widely in industry — and studies their fundamental chemistry and applications. Catalysts discovered by Grubbs and his research team are used to prepare new pharmaceuticals and for the conversion of biorenewable carbon sources into fuels, among other applications.