K. Barry Sharpless '63, the William M. Keck Professor of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., will be the keynote speaker at this year's Convocation ceremony.
During the ceremony, which will take place in Leede Arena on Sept. 20, Sharpless will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Science.
Sharpless has served on the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University since finishing his postdoctoral work at Stanford and Harvard.
Sharpless began researching chemistry while at Dartmouth in the early 1960s. He worked with Chemistry Professor Thomas A. Spencer.
Spencer said Sharpless was an undergraduate in the first class he taught at the College.
He described Sharpless as "an exceedingly energetic and enthusiastic person in addition to being a bright and devoted student."
"What really characterized him," Spencer said, "is the joy that he takes in doing his science."
Sharpless has been a pioneer in the field of asymmetric catalysis, Spencer said.
Sharpless spoke at the dedication of the Burke chemistry building in 1992, said Chemistry Professor Russell Hughes, who has met Sharpless.
The convocation speaker is chosen by the President from a list of candidates developed by the Board of Trustees and the Council on Honorary Degrees, according to Roland Adams, Associate Director of the College News Service.
Since 1992, Sharpless has received the King Faisal International Prize for Science, the Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry, the San Diego Scientist of the Year award and the Arthur C. Cope Award from the American Chemical Society. He has been the William M. Keck Professor of Chemistry since 1990.
