The Guy F. Lipscomb, Sr. Lecture in Chemistry and Biochemistry

The Guy F. Lipscomb, Sr. Lecture in Chemistry and Biochemistry was established in 1996 to honor a dedicated and distinguished professor (1920–1949) and chair of USC's Department of Chemistry (1930–1949).

Professor Lipscomb was well known for his inspirational teaching methods and his leadership skills in administrative work. His keen understanding of applied chemistry led him to found Continental Chemical Company and Anchor Continental in which he remained active until his death in 1958. The Lipscomb Lectures were developed as a result of a generous gift by Guy F. Lipscomb, Jr., and the Lipscomb Family Foundation, which also created the Guy F. Lipscomb Professorships in Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Previous lecturers:

Dr. A. Larry Arsenault, McMaster University - 1996
Dr. Roy E. Wuthier, University of South Carolina - 1996
Dr. Mark Ratner, Northwestern University - 1997
Dr. James M. Tour, University of South Carolina - 1997
Dr. Arthur Veis, Northwestern University - 1997
Dr. Robert R. Birge, Syracuse University - 1998
Dr. A. Hari Reddi, University of California, Davis Medical Center - 1998
Dr. Michael J. Behe, Lehigh University - 1999
Dr. George R. Stark, The Lerner Institute - 1999
Dr. Harry Haigler, University of California-Irvine - 2000
Dr. Julius Rebek, Jr., The Scripps Research Institute - 2001
Dr. Clifford J. Tabin, Harvard Medical School - 2001
Dr. Harry Gray, California Institute of Technology - 2001
Dr. Steve Sligar, University of Illinois, Urbana - 2002
Dr. Thomas B. Rauchfuss, University of Illinois, Urbana - 2002
Dr. Hartmut Wohlrab, Harvard Medical School - 2003
Dr. Michael J. Sailor, University of California-San Diego - 2004
Dr. Royce Murray, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill - 2005
Dr. Richard van Duyne, Northwestern University - 2006
Dr. Paul Alivisatos, University of California at Berkeley - 2007
Dr. Thomas Mallouk, Pennsylvania State University - 2008
Dr. Nathan Lewis, California Institute of Technology - 2009
Dr. Rod Tweten, The University of Oklahoma - 2009
Dr. Stephen J. Lippard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - 2010
Dr. Lukasz Lebioda, University of South Carolina - 2011
Dr. Tobin Marks, Northwestern University – 2011
Dr. Thomas L. Poulos, University of California - 2011
Dr. Michael C. Ostrowski, Ohio State University - 2012
Rik Derynk, University of California, San Francisco, CA - 2016
Christof Fahrni, Georgia Institute of Technology - 2017
Dennis Thiele, Duke University SOM, Durham, NC - 2019
Wilfred van der Donk, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign, IL - 2022

Guy Lipscomb earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Auburn University in 1907 and 1908. His early teaching days were spent first as an assistant professor at Princeton University (1909-1910) and as an associate professor of chemistry at Clemson College (1910-1913). He did graduate work at the University of Chicago and at the University of Berlin (1913-1914). In 1914 he returned to Princeton University where he completed his doctoral degree in 1916 in physical chemistry. During World War I, he served as captain in the Chemical Warfare Service of the U.S. Army.

Post-war he briefly returned to Clemson College, and then came to the University of South Carolina in 1920 to teach. In 1930, he was named head of the Department of Chemistry and held that position until his retirement in 1949. He founded Continental Chemical Company and Anchor Continental. He remained active in both companies until his death in 1958.

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry

The Guy F. Lipscomb, Sr. Lecture in Chemistry and Biochemistry

Previous lecturers:

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