Organic Chemist to Launch Inaugural Tieckelmann Memorial Lecture Series at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Albert Padwa, a former professor in the University at Buffalo Department of Chemistry and currently the William Patterson Timmie Professor of Organic Chemistry at Emory University, will visit UB on May 8 to deliver the inaugural Howard Tieckelmann Memorial Lecture.

Padwa's lecture, "Cascade Reactions for Alkaloid Synthesis" will take place in 215 Natural Sciences Complex on the UB North (Amherst) Campus starting at 3:30 p.m.

It is free and open to the public.

The event will begin with opening remarks by Janet Morrow, associate chair, and Steven Diver, professor, both in the UB Department of Chemistry; Frank Dinan, Canisius College professor of chemistry will reflect on his experiences as a graduate student and coworker of Tieckelmann's.

Padwa was a professor of chemistry at UB from 1966 to 1979, during which time he and Tieckelmann were colleagues in organic chemistry. In 1979, Padwa took a position at Emory University.

Throughout his career, Padwa's research interests have ranged widely over mechanistic and synthetic organic chemistry, and his group has studied the mechanism of metal catalyzed cycloadditions -- methods used to make many different heterocyclic ring structures that are found in natural products and pharmaceuticals. His group has applied these new methods to the synthesis of natural products. He has published more than 530 scientific papers.

Padwa has been well-recognized for his research accomplishments through a number of prestigious fellowships and honors. He is a recipient of the Sloan fellowship, the John S. Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, an Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award, a NATO fellowship, a Fulbright Hays Fellowship and the American Chemical Society Cope Scholar Award.

The Padwa lecture is the first in the UB Department of Chemistry's new Howard Tieckelmann Memorial Lecture series in honor of the late Howard Tieckelmann, a highly respected and beloved former faculty member and department chair.

Tieckelmann earned his doctorate in chemistry from UB and in 1948 became a UB faculty member in the department, where he served until 1987. During that time, he held numerous departmental positions including director of graduate studies, department vice chair and chair. In 1975 he was named a Distinguished Teaching Professor.

Tieckelmann's tenure at UB coincided with the critical period during which the university transitioned from a private institution to a member of the State University of New York system.

"Professor Tieckelmann's vigorous research program, his dedicated service and commitment to his students set the tone for the Department of Chemistry's tradition of excellence in research and teaching," said Diver.

The Howard Tieckelmann Memorial Lecture series is made possible by donations from alumni of the UB Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information on the May 8 lecture, contact Pat Cray at 645-6800 ext. 2025 and pacray@buffalo.edu or Diver at 645-6800 ext. 2201 and diver@buffalo.edu.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.