Source: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Written by: Office of International Cooperation & Exchange
Photo by: Cai Shanshan, Qiu Zihao
Proofread by: Zhang Xuejing
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the afternoon of November 24, 2015, the 14th Session of Nobel Laureates Series Lectures at Sun Yat-sen University, organized by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, the Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province, and Sun Yat-sen University, was held in Swasey Hall on South Campus. Professor Robert H. Grubbs, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry from California Institute of Technology, gave a lecture entitled “Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry”.

The lecture was chaired by Prof. Albert S. C. Chan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor at the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Sun Yat-sen University. Mr. Xia Mingjiu, Deputy Administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, sent a congratulatory telegram, which was read by Ms. Yang Peijun, Deputy Inspector of Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs of Guangdong Province. Prof. Yan Guangmei, Vice President of Sun Yat-sen University, delivered a welcome speech. About 300 faculty and students from the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Zhongshan School of Medicine at Sun Yat-sen University, as well as South China University of Technology, Jinan University and Guangdong University of Technology attended the lecture.

During the one hour lecture, Prof. Grubbs introduced the Grubbs’ catalysts and olefin metathesis reactions. He also explained how to use the catalysts and natural renewable resources to synthesize pheromones to promote the development of green and sustainable chemistry. In the Q&A session, the faculty and students asked questions, and Prof. Grubbs’ answers won many applauses.

Prof. Robert Grubbs is an organic chemist. The Grubbs’ catalyst, which is named after Prof. Grubbs, has been widely applied in medicine and industry, and has paved the way for the development of green chemistry. Prof. Grubbs has over 600 publications and holds 135 patents. He has won numerous awards. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2005 for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis.