On November 16th, Professor Gerard “Ged” Parkin and his daughter Lia made a visit to Strem Chemicals, Inc. Professor Parkin was at Simmons University in Boston the prior evening, attending a ceremony and dinner in honor of him as the recipient of the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry. The award was given in recognition of his many contributions to the field of chemical education. He formerly had the esteemed honor of receiving The Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring as well. This award was presented at the White House by President Obama in 2011 in recognition of phenomenal mentors and the importance of their role in fostering the academic and personal development of their students.
Since Professor Parkin was already in the area, we took the opportunity to invite him to Newburyport to visit Strem. After a tour of the facilities and a lunch with senior management, Ged presented a talk on his research, providing insight into his group’s work on new metallaboratrane species which have interesting bonding properties and undergo a number of fascinating transformations. He also showed off a few of his signature magic tricks!
Professor Parkin’s visit concluded with a dinner at The Grog in scenic downtown Newburyport with a group from Strem.
For more information about Ged’s group and their studies, please visit: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/chemistry/groups/parkin/parkin.htm