The IIT Department of Chemisty welcomed Harvard University Department of Chemistry's Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor George Whitesides, who delivered the 2011 Kilpatrick Lecture on September 23, 2011.
A pioneer in fundamental research who pushes the bounds of interdisciplinary collaboration to establish new fields in science and develop them towards practical applications with the potential to change the everyday world in which we live, Whitesides is the founder of Diagnostics for All, a nonprofit enterprise to provide low-cost, easy to use postage-stamp-sized diagnostics tools to be used onsite in developing countries.
Whitesides is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is an advisor to the National Science Foundation, NASA, Department of Defense, and National Research Council. Co-author of more than 1,100 articles, holder of more than 100 patents, and founder of twelve companies, he is ranked #1 on the Hirsh Index of living chemists. Whitesides is winner of the Dreyfus Prize for new materials that have advanced chemistry and its societal benefits, as well as the Franklin Medal, awarded to those whose great innovation has benefited humanity, advanced science, launched new fields of inquiry, and deepened our understanding of the universe.
"Whitesides's contributions to science range into biology, engineering, physiology, materials science, physics, and especially these days, nanotechnology. Other scientists, government leaders, inventors, and investors worldwide want to hear from him." - Smithsonian Magazine
