Nobel Conference Presenter to Speak at Science Museum of Minnesota

Sir Harry Kroto, the 1996 Nobel laureate in Chemistry and a vocal proponent of increased STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education for today’s youth, will speak at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5. Kroto is in Minnesota as a guest of Gustavus Adolphus College and will be speaking at the college’s 50th annual Nobel Conference on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Admission to the Science Museum and Kroto’s lecture on Oct. 5 is free and open to the public, though a reservation is required.

Kroto and two colleagues received the Nobel Prize in 1996 for their co-discovery of buckminsterfullerene, a form of pure carbon better known as “buckyballs.” The extraordinary molecule consists of 60 carbon atoms arranged as a spheroid, in a pattern exactly matching the stitching on soccer balls.

Kroto now teaches at Florida State University and is the Francis Eppes Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. A vocal advocate for science education, Kroto devotes much of his time and energy to promoting careers in science among young people. In 1995, Kroto founded the Vega Science Trust, a non-profit organization which provides a platform for scientists to communicate directly with the public through videos and live streaming.

Kroto was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England, and attended Sheffield University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry in 1961 and his PhD in molecular spectroscopy in 1964. He started teaching at the University of Sussex in 1967 and remained there until 2004, when he accepted the position at Florida State. In addition to his Nobel Prize, Kroto won the Royal Society’s prestigious Michael Faraday Award in 2001, which is given annually to a scientist who has done the most to further public communication of science, engineering, or technology in the United Kingdom.

If you would like to reserve your spot to hear Kroto speak at the Science Museum on Oct. 5, go online to gustavus.edu/forms/488. If you have questions or need more information about this event, contact Maggie Forster in the Gustavus Advancement Office at maggie@gustavus.edu. If you are interested in hearing Kroto and other world renowned scientists speak at Gustavus’s Nobel Conference, go online to gustavus.edu/nobel for more information or to gustavustickets.com to purchase tickets for the Conference.