VCU Nobel Laureate John Fenn to speak at honors convocation April 12

By Mike Frontiero and Timothy Hulsey

John B. Fenn, Ph.D., professor of analytical chemistry and winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in chemistry, will be the featured speaker at the Virginia Commonwealth University 2004 Honors Convocation.

The event - which is free and open to the public - will be held Monday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. in the VCU School of Engineering Auditorium, 601 W. Main St., Richmond, Va.  It is cosponsored by VCU�s Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and by VCU Life Sciences.

This will be Fenn's first public address to the VCU community since he won the Nobel Prize. Fenn will discuss his pioneering technique of measuring protein molecules in a lecture titled "Why Elephants Fly: Electrospray Wings for Molecular Elephants."

Fenn's technique, called electrospray ionization, is used in laboratories around the world to quickly reveal the contents of a sample, contributing to the development of new pharmaceuticals. His work has led to a better understanding of the inner workings of cells, and helped determine protein structures and functions involved in the development of diseases such as cancer and malaria.

Since winning the prize Oct. 9, 2002, Fenn has kept a hectic schedule delivering lectures on his research to conferences and academic institutions. Since March 2003, he has spent more than 110 days on the road in the United States, Scotland, Germany and Italy. Later this year, he will be speaking in Japan, Russia and Serbia.

�VCU Life Sciences is proud to cosponsor the Honors Convocation, both to highlight the remarkable impacts of Dr. Fenn�s research on modern life sciences and to support VCU�s honors program, which continues to foster academic excellence on our campus,� said VCU Vice Provost for Life Sciences Thomas F. Huff, Ph.D. VCU Life Sciences (http://www.vcu.edu/lifesci/) is a university-wide academic organization, created to prepare students for the anticipated growth in new, highly interdisciplinary jobs. It offers innovative undergraduate and master�s degree programs in environmental studies and in bioinformatics, and a Ph.D. in Integrative Life Sciences.

The VCU Honors Convocation is an annual event that seeks to address issues of interest to the university's general honors population and enhance the intellectual environment.

The VCU Honors Program was founded in 1982 by a task force chaired by Elske v.P. Smith, Ph.D., former dean of the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences. It began with 63 students in the fall of 1983 and now enrolls more than 1,500 students. The goal of the program is to meet the needs of academically talented undergraduate students by providing courses with high academic standards and offering a challenging and exciting variety of intellectual, cultural and social activities. The program offers a diverse curriculum, representing nearly all departments, schools and colleges. Students in honors classes encounter VCU's best faculty, teaching subjects they know and love.