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McConnell Lectureship

Harden Marsden McConnell, the Robert Eckles Swain Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, died at his home on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 after a long illness, he was 87.  McConnell received his bachelor’s degree in 1947 from George Washington University and his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 1951.  After a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, he moved to Shell Development Company in Emeryville where he initiated fundamental studies of NMR spectra and spectral line shapes.  Following this, he moved to Caltech in 1956 where he flourished prior to his move to Stanford in 1964. McConnell was one of the leading physical and biophysical chemists of the last half-century, contributing pioneering approaches and incisive results in diverse areas ranging from fundamental studies of the electronic structure and dynamics of molecules, largely using magnetic resonance methods, to membrane biophysics and immunology.  He was an individual of towering intellect and rigor, training many successful scientists and greatly influencing a generation of physical scientists who were interested in biological problems. McConnell was widely recognized for his achievements with awards at the highest level including the Wolf Prize (1984), the National Medal of Science (1989), and the Welch Award in Chemistry (2002), among many others.  During the last year, he assembled a remarkable personal history that summarizes key turning points in his scientific career; this can be found at: www.hardenmcconnell.org. Harden McConnell is survived by his widow Sophia, sons Trevor and Hunter, daughter Jane, daughter-in-law, Oksana, and one granddaughter. A special thanks to the McConnell Lectureship Steering Committee of Professors Alvin Kwiram, Hayes Griffith and Steve Boxer for their role in establishing this annual lectureship in physical chemistry. Contact If you have questions or need additional information please contact Professor Steve Boxer at sboxer [at] stanford.edu (sboxer[at]stanford[dot]edu) or chemistry-events [at] stanford.edu (chemistry-events[at]stanford[dot]edu).  

Upcoming Events

May
22
Date
Thursday, May 22, 2025, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Host: Steve Boxer 

Past Events

Date
Thursday, May 30, 2024, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Location:
Sapp Center Lecture Hall 114
About the SeminarMagnetic resonance one spin at a timeSingle spin resonance has found its way into versatile quantum applications. Spins are e.g.
Date
Thursday, June 8, 2023, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Location:
Sapp Center Lecture Hall 114
About the Seminar:Scaling down the laws of thermodynamicsThermodynamics provides a robust conceptual framework and set of laws that govern the exchange of energ
Date
Tuesday, May 24, 2022, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Location:
Sapp Center Lecture Hall
McConnell Lectureship: Professor Dame Carol V.
Date
Tuesday, April 16, 2019, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Location:
Sapp Center Lecture Hall
McConnell Lectureship: Professor Wolfgang Lubitz, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (Host: Professor Steve Boxer) About the Seminar "An Enzymatic Process That C
Date
Monday, April 9, 2018, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Location:
Sapp Center Auditorium
McConnell Lectureship: Professor Petra Schwille, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (Host: Steven Boxer) "Towards a minimal set of modules for cellular life" About
Date
Wednesday, April 26, 2017, 4:30pm - 5:30pm
Location:
Sapp Center Lecture Hall
McConnell Lectureship: Professor Chris Dobson, University of Cambridge, Sapp Center Lecture Hall, 4:30pm (Host: Steve Boxer)
Date
Thursday, April 21, 2016, 4:30pm
Location:
Braun Lecture Hall
S.G. Mudd Building
Stanford University
“Force and Function: How do Biomolecules do it?” About the Seminar: Molecular interactions are the basis of life, and forces play a crucial role in both the assembly and the struc
Date
Saturday, April 18, 2015, 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location:
Braun Lecture Hall,
Seeley G. Mudd Building
Stanford University
The discoveries and pioneering advances made by Harden McConnell, Distinguished Professor in Chemistry, have had a significant impact on chemistry and biophysics.