Nobel Laureate F. Sherwood Rowland to Speak at UNC Asheville

Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland

Nobel Laureate F. Sherwood Rowland will be the featured speaker at UNC Asheville’s seventh annual S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lecture Series September 9-10. Rowland, an American chemist, shared the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for research on the depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer. The Nobel Laureate’s two public talks will focus on the Earth’s atmosphere. Events are free and open to the public.

Rowland will discuss "Our Changing Atmosphere: Stratospheric Ozone Depletion and Global Warming" at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinksy Auditorium. This keynote talk will focus on several important alterations in the chemical composition of Earth’s atmosphere and how these changes are likely to cause significant further changes in the coming decades. Rowland will explain how the world’s population is affecting ozone depletion and global warming by releasing gases into the atmosphere.

Rowland will examine "Hydrocarbons in Earth’s Atmosphere" at 8 a.m. Friday, Sept. 10, in UNC Asheville’s Lipinsky Auditorium. During the presentation, Rowland will discuss his research on the hydrocarbon composition of cities around the world and its role in the creation of urban ozone.

Rowland shared the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with chemists Mario Molina and Paul Crutzen. The researchers discovered that man-made chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants accelerate the decomposition of the ozonosphere, which protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation. Their findings eventually brought about international changes in the chemical industry. Rowland holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Chicago and has been a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Irvine since 1964.

The S. Dexter Squibb Distinguished Lectureship brings well-known scientists to the UNC Asheville campus to give public and campus lectures, and meet with students, faculty and high school science students and administrators. The lecture series honors S. Dexter Squibb, who served as UNC Asheville Chemistry Department Chair for 30 years.

For more information, call UNC Asheville’s Chemistry Department at 828/251-6443.

Media Contacts:

• Dr. John Stevens, UNCA Chemistry Professor, 828/232-5173
• Jill Yarnall, UNCA Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526