26th Annual S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecture Series in Chemistry
We are excited to welcome Dr. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Professor of Soil Biogeochemistry and Falasco Chair in Earth Sciences and Geology at the University of California, Merced, as UNC Asheville’s 26th S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecturer. She will be speaking on Monday, September 16 and Tuesday, September 17 in Highsmith Student Union’s Alumni Hall.
Dr. Berhe has previously served as the Director of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Her research interests lie at the intersection of soil science, geochemistry, global change science, and political ecology, and her work seeks to improve our understanding of how the soil system regulates the earth’s climate and the dynamic two-way relationship between soil and human communities. Numerous awards and honors have recognized her scholarly contributions and efforts to improve equity and inclusion in STEM. She is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America, and a member of the inaugural class of the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s New Voices in Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
The S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecture Series in Chemistry is an annual highlight for the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. We take pride in bringing our students, alumni, faculty and friends of the department together to learn from each other and from nationally recognized chemists in honor of Dr. Squibb’s lifetime of contributions to chemistry.
Previous S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecturers in Chemistry
2024 – Thedore Goodson III: Quantum Information Science
2022 – Michelle Buchanan: Serving the Nation Though Science
2021 – Benny Chan: Inclusive Excellence in Chemistry
2019 – Kerri Pratt: Understanding Air Quality and Climate Change
2018 – Dana Boyd Barr: Chemistry for Better Human Health
2017 – Dwaine Eubanks: The Challenges of Cognitive Assessment
2015 – Dennis C. Liotta: Industrial-Academic Partnerships in Medical
Chemistry
2014 – Bassam Z. Shakashiri: Communicating Chemistry to All
Citizens on Planet Earth
2013 – Harry B. Gray: New Light on Bio-Inorganic Catalysis
2012 – R. Graham Cooks: CSI: Chemistry, Spectrometry, Innovation
2011 – Angelica M. Stacey: Materials for Nanotechnology & Chemical
Education
2010 – George H. Atkinson: Science & Global Policy
2009 – Joseph S. Francisco: New Frontiers in Environmental
Chemistry
2008 – Milton L. Brown: Drug Discovery and Design: From Conception to Human Testing
2007 – John C. Kotz: Innovative Approaches to Chemical Pedagogy
2006 – David J. Rakestraw: Entrepreneurship in Chemical Technology
2005 – Catherine H. Middlecamp: Chemistry in Context
2004 – F. Sherwood Rowland: Atmospheric Chemistry
2003 – Richard N. Zare: Laser Chemistry
2002 – Geraldine L. Richmond: Women in Chemistry
2001 – James W. Mitchell: Industrial Connections to the Academic Community
2000 – Nancy H. Kolodny: Biochemistry for the Millennium
1999 – Michael P. Doyle: Research as Teaching for Undergraduates
1998 – Arthur B. Ellis: Materials Chemistry and the Freshman Curriculum