|
Kenneth
Raymond ’64 receives Vollum Award
 |
 |
| |
President Diver and Vollum Award recipient
Kenneth Raymond ’64 |
The 2002-03 academic year was officially opened during
convocation, held during orientation week and attended by an auditorium
full of new students and their families. The ceremonies were highlighted
by the conferring of the Vollum Award for Distinguished Accomplishment
in Science and Technology upon Kenneth N. Raymond ’64, professor
of chemistry at the University of California–Berkeley who is noted
for his pioneering research in bioinorganic chemistry. In addition Nathalia
King, professor of English and humanities, addressed “Odysseus and
the Arts of Memory,” which provided a source of discussion in parent
humanities conferences held later that day.
Kenneth Raymond is a founder of the field of bioinorganic
chemistry and has long been celebrated for his significant contributions
to the chemical sciences. A member of both the National Academy of Sciences
and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he has received numerous
awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the American Chemical Society
Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic Chemistry.
Raymond has been working on finding chemical agents that can safely remove
concentrations of poisonous metal ions from the human body. He has been
designing chemical compounds modeled after the compounds manufactured
by bacteria and other microorganisms to transport iron. For instance,
Raymond’s synthetic agents bind tightly enough with plutonium so
that it can be passed through the kidneys and excreted out of the body.
The U.S. Department of Energy has found that these agents could also prove
valuable for safely and inexpensively removing radioactive contaminants
from the environment.
Born in Astoria, Oregon, Raymond attended Clackamas High School. After
Reed, he earned a Ph.D. at Northwestern University, then joined the faculty
at the University of California–Berkeley.
The Vollum Award was created in 1975 as a tribute to the late C. Howard
Vollum,a 1936 Reed graduate and lifelong friend of the college. Winners
are selected for the perseverance, fresh approach to problems and solutions,
and creative imagination that characterized Vollum’s career.
|
next
page  
 |
