John Fenn, Nobel Laureate, to Speak on Nov. 5

Akron, Ohio, Oct. 29, 2003 — John Fenn, Ph.D., who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2002, will deliver a lecture, “Electrospray Wings for Molecular Elephants,” at The University of Akron on Wednesday, Nov. 5.

Fenn was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on the development of electrospray ionization, a process used in analytical chemistry. Fenn's work made significant contributions to the understanding of complex molecules such as polymers, proteins and DNA. His contributions revolutionized the field of mass spectrometry.

Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that is used to identify unknown compounds, to quantify known compounds and to determine the structure and chemical properties of molecules.

Prior to Fenn's contributions to the field, large molecules, such as polymers, could be studied by mass spectrometry only after breaking them into pieces. The electrospray techniques he developed made those large molecules into gas phase ions that could be analyzed using the mass spectrometry process.

As Fenn describes it, the technique he developed is comparable to learning how to make elephants fly and, as a result of his work, chemists now easily can make such molecular “elephants” “fly.” Electrospraying is similar to the electrospinning techniques developed and being used at The University of Akron's College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering to produce nanofibers.

Separately, Fenn also is credited with pioneering studies in the field of “molecular beams.”

Fenn will deliver his lecture at 11 a.m., Nov. 5 in the Goodyear Auditorium in the Goodyear Polymer Center. Refreshments will be served prior to the lecture.

Return...