Kavli Lectures: Solving society’s problems, examining highly versatile polymers

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2015 — Using chemistry to solve societal problems and investigating the extraordinary characteristics of porous polymers will be the topics of a pair of Kavli Lectures at the 250^th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society. The meeting will take place August 16-20 in Boston.

The presentations, which will be among more than 9,000 scheduled to take place at the meeting, will be held on Monday, August 17, from 4 to 5 p.m. and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Ballroom West, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

The first speaker will discuss the versatility of porous polymers, which have large surface areas that enable them to store gaseous fuels efficiently and remove contaminants from liquids or gases. The second speaker will explain how chemists could broaden their roles to help solve the wide variety of problems plaguing today’s rapidly changing world.

• William Dichtel, Ph.D. (4 p.m.): The Kavli Foundation Emerging Leader in Chemistry Lecture
  “Spectacular properties of porous polymers”
• George Whitesides, Ph.D. (5:30 p.m.): The Fred Kavli Innovations in Chemistry Lecture
  “Problems, puzzles, and inevitabilities in research”

The Kavli lecture series is a result of a collaboration between ACS and The Kavli Foundation, an internationally recognized philanthropic organization known for its support of basic scientific innovation.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 158,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.