Nichols Medal goes to Nicholas Turro

Nicholas J. Turro, William P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University, is the recipient of the 2007 William H. Nichols Medal, presented by the ACS New York Section for distinguished research in chemistry. Turro received a gold medal, a bronze replica, and $5,000 during a distinguished symposium and awards banquet held in White Plains, N.Y., in March.

Turro is being honored for his research on the photochemistry of organic molecules and supramolecular systems. His contributions have been a major factor in providing the theoretical and experimental paradigms on which the fields of modern mechanistic organic photochemistry, chemiexcitation of organic molecules, the theory of organic photochemical reactions, supramolecular organic photochemistry, and organic magnetochemistry have been built. Turro has had a major impact on the education of recent generations of physical organic chemists and photochemists worldwide.

The Nichols Medal was established in 1902 by William H. Nichols, a past-president of ACS, who maintained a deep commitment to research and development and to the importance of supporting science education and students of chemistry.