University of Minnesota celebrates national historic landmark honor on Sept. 12

Honor is only the second American Chemical Society landmark designation in the five-state region

Contacts:

Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering, rzurn@umn.edu, (612) 626-7959

Brooke Dillon, University News Service, bldillon@umn.edu, (612) 624-2801

What: American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmark dedication ceremony and research symposium honoring the work of legendary University of Minnesota chemistry professor Izaak M. Kolthoff
Who: More than 300 academic and industry leaders
When: Dedication Ceremony: 4-5 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12; Research Symposium: Saturday, Sept. 13
Where: University of Minnesota, Smith Hall, 207 Pleasant St. SE, Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (9/10/2014) – The work of legendary chemistry professor Izaak M. Kolthoff in establishing the field of analytical chemistry as a scientific discipline has been named a 2014 American Chemical Society National Historic Chemical Landmark. This is only the second American Chemical Society landmark designation in the five-state region. In 2007, 3M was recognized for the invention of Scotch tape.
A public dedication ceremony, including the unveiling of a plaque in Kolthoff’s honor, will celebrate the prestigious national honor for the University of Minnesota and its Department of Chemistry at 4 p.m., Friday, Sept. 12. A research symposium will follow on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The landmark designation news coincides with the centennial of Smith Hall where Kolthoff did much of his work.
Kolthoff (1894-1993) was a professor at the University of Minnesota from 1927 to 1962. He is widely recognized within his field as the “father” of modern analytical chemistry and one of the scientists involved in the breakthrough discovery of synthetic rubber. Kolthoff’s research transformed the way that scientists identify and quantify chemical substances, from a collection of empirical recipes and prescriptions to a branch of chemistry grounded on solid theoretical principles and experimental techniques. Today, analytical chemistry is used in fields as varied as clinical medicine, environmental studies, forensics, and food and drug safety.
Kolthoff’s scientific achievements garnered many accolades. He was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and knighted by his native Netherlands as a Commander in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He received the William H. Nichols Medal, the Robert Boyle Medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry in England, the Fisher Award, and the first J. Calvin Giddings Award for Excellence in Teaching Analytical Chemistry, among many other awards and medals. In 1972, the University of Minnesota Board of Regents named a new chemistry research building Kolthoff Hall. In 2012, Kolthoff was posthumously inducted into the Minnesota Science and Technology Hall of Fame.

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