Zare Named Norris Awardee

Richard N. Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science at Stanford University and a member of the university's chemistry department, has won the James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry. Given out by the ACS Northeastern Section, the award consists of a citation and a $3,000 honorarium that will be presented on Nov. 11, when Zare will give a speech titled "Chemical Fizzics: Seeing Chemistry in Action."

Zare is being cited for his enthusiasm and dedication to teaching, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Stanford recognized his efforts previously with its highest award for undergraduate teaching, the Laurence & Naomi Hoagland Award. In addition, Zare is well known for his research on lasers applied to chemical reactions and to chemical analysis and for his textbook, "Angular Momentum."

Zare received his bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics in 1961 and his Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1964 from Harvard University. Before starting at Stanford in 1977, he held faculty appointments in the chemistry departments of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1965–66), the University of Colorado (1966–69), and Columbia University (1969–77). His other honors include the 1983 National Medal of Science, the 1999 Welch Award in Chemistry, and the 1998 Distinguished Service Award from the National Science Board.