RU chemistry students connect with Nobel Prize winner

Four Radford University chemistry students, including two who are doing fullerene research, met with Sir Harry Kroto, the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner, about the hollow, multi-shaped molecules composed of carbon.

Kroto won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of fullerenes and RU's Angel Lambert, a sophomore from Moneta, and Jordan Snelgrove, a senior from Radford, are doing research in the molecules whose discovery by Kroto has opened new applications in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

Lambert, a sophomore from Moneta, and Snelgrove, a senior from Radford, were joined by fellow chemistry majors Charlie Folsom, a junior from Oak Hill, and Hannah Gullickson, a junior from Evans, Georgia, at the Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) in Nashville Oct. 16-19. The group heard Kroto deliver the plenary lecture, and then Lambert and Snellgrove presented their research work on fullerenes to him as he toured the poster presentation sessions.

"Dr. Kroto seemed excited about their research and shared some ideas for next steps with each student," said Assistant Professor of Chemistry Tim Fuhrer.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kim Lane also accompanied Fuhrer and the students to the event that featured several sessions of scholarly talks and the undergraduate poster session at which all four students presented.

H-Kroto-Nobel

RU chemistry majors Angel Lambert and Jordan Snelgrove with Sir Harry Kroto, 1996 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.

Nov 4, 2014