Dr. Joseph S. Francisco will speak on October 1

Distinguished chemist Joseph S. Francisco will be the featured speaker at UNC Asheville's 12th annual S. Dexter Squibb Lecture Series on October 1. Francisco is the William E. Moore Distinguished Professor of Physical Chemistry at Purdue University. His two talks are free and open to the public.

At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, Francisco will give a talk on "From Earth's Atmosphere to Planetary Engineering of Mars: An Adventure in Chemistry" in UNC Asheville's Rhoades-Robinson Hall, room 125. During the lecture, Francisco will review the chemistry behind the destruction of ozone and put into perspective his research, which helped lay the foundation for the design of new materials to replace chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Francisco will also examine "Structure and Reactivity of Radical-Molecule Complexes: New Frontier in Atmospheric Chemistry" at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1, in UNC Asheville's Karpen Hall, room 038. In this talk, Francisco will describe the atmospheric chemical reactions that are responsible for air pollution and global climate change.

Francisco holds a doctorate in chemical physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the William E. Moore Distinguished Professor of Physical Chemistry at Purdue University. Previously, he has taught at Wayne State University and California Institute of Technology. The author of more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, Francisco is the president-elect of the American Chemical Society. He was recently awarded an Alexander von Humbolt U.S. Senior Scientist Award by the German government, as well being appointed a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Bologna, Italy.

The S. Dexter Squibb Endowed Distinguished Lectureship brings well-known scientists to the UNC Asheville campus to give lectures and to meet with University students and faculty, as well as high school science students and administrators. The lecture series honors S. Dexter Squibb, former UNC Asheville Chemistry Department chair. Squibb joined the faculty in 1964 and was instrumental in developing UNC Asheville's Chemistry Department into a certified four-year program.

For more information, call UNC Asheville's Chemistry Department at 828/251-6443 or email bhenders@unca.edu.