Nobel laureate to explain connection between arts, sciences

Internationally recognized for his highly original work in chemistry and literature, Nobel laureate Roald Hoffmann will share his views on the psychological dimension of chemistry and the connections he sees between arts and sciences in an illustrated lecture beginning at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, in Gannett Auditorium. Admission is free.

Hoffmann is a 1981 recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry and the Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters at Cornell University. He is also a poet and playwright, with original views on the links he sees between science and art.  Chemists employ “hard work, clever construction, and chance” to create something original and new, “forms of matter that have not been on Earth before,” Hoffmann has said. “They contemplate the molecules they make. And they go on to make new ones. I think the process is much like art.”

His presentation promises to offer an apt keynote for the Molecules That Matter, the art-and-science exhibition at the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery through April 13, 2008. Hoffmann served as an expert advisor to the exhibition and reviewed the final list of molecules showcased in Molecules That Matter. The exhibition juxtaposes contemporary artworks and material objects with giant-sized models of 10 molecules spotlighted for their impact on human life and history during the 20th century, including aspirin, DNA, and Prozac.

Since 1965, Hoffmann has taught chemistry at Cornell University, where his courses include first-year general chemistry and chemistry courses for non-scientists. His many honors, in addition to the Nobel Prize, include American Chemical Society awards in three specific subfields of chemistry: organic, inorganic, and chemical education. “Applied theoretical chemistry” is the term Hoffmann uses to characterize “the particular blend of computations stimulated by experiment and the construction of generalized models of frameworks for understanding” that he sees as his contribution to chemistry—new ways to look at the geometry and reactivity of molecules.

Hoffmann has published four poetry collections and two plays, including Oxygen (2001), coauthored with Carl Djerassi, and Should’ve (2006).





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