Archive

Past Seminar Speakers

P.O.C.C. has a rich tradition of inviting industrial and academic chemists at all levels of their careers to give seminars to the chemical community here in Philadelphia. Below is a list of speakers from previous years spanning to 2005. Contact the webmaster for records dating all the way back to the first years of POCC in the 1940s and abstract requests.

We have several named lectureship series including:

1) P.O.C.C. Industrial Award Lectureship: Given in recognition of a industrial scientist that has had tremendous impact on human health or agroscience as well as their service to the chemical community. Past awardees have included L-C Campeau, Martin Eastgate, and Thomas Stevenson. This is conferred when an industrial chemist is chair (alternative years)

2) The Women in Chemistry Lectureship: Given in recognition of a high performing female scientist (industrial or academic) whose science has not only been transformative but that she has championed the advancement of women in the sciences. Past lecturers have included Danica Rankic, Donna Huryn, and Cheryl Hayward. This has become a regular lectureship in recent years

3) The Allan Day Award Lectureship: Our most prestigous award. See below for more details

4) The Student Choice Lectureship: Chosen by student members of the executive board in discussion with their peers, this is a student driven lectureship and represents the "peoples" choice. Past lecturers have included Corinna Schindler, Timothy Newhouse, Dirk Trauner.

New to the 2024-2025 season: The Early Career Investigator Lecture: Recognizes an academic or industrial scientist who is a rising start in organic synthesis.

Year Name Institution Named Lecture?
2024 Danica Rankic Pfizer Women In Chemistry Lecture
2024 Corinna Schindler University of Michigan Student Choice Lecture
2024 Alexander Grenning University of Minnesota
2024 L-C Campeau Merck & Co. POCC Industry Award Lecture
2024 John Wood Baylor University Allan Day Award Lecture
2023 Sophie Rousseaux University of Toronto
2023 Alison Levens FMC
2023 Dan Paone GSK
2023 John Curto Pfizer
2023 Robert Knowles Princeton University
2023 Timothy Newhouse Yale University Student Choice Lecture
2023 Kristi Leonard Janssen R&D
2023 Mark Levin University of Chicago
2023 Jon Ellman Yale University Allan Day Award Lecture
2022 Steven Wisniewski BMS
2022 Donna Huryn University of Pittsburgh Women in Chemistry Lecture
2022 Nicole Goodwin GSK
2022 Emma McInturff Pfizer
2022 Alison Narayan University of Michigan
2022 Dani Schultz Merck
2022 Jeff Sperry Vertex Pharmaceuticals
2022 Song Lin Cornell
2022 Melanie Sanford University of Michigan Allan Day Award Lecture
2021 Martin Eastgate BMS POCC Industrial Award Lecture
2021 Dirk Trauner NYU Student Choice Lecture
2021 Jaume Balsells Janssen R & D
2021 Andrew McNally Colorado State University
2021 Erin O'Brien Biogen
2021 Seth Herzon Yale
2021 Erika Milczek Curie Co. Women in Chemistry Lecture
2021 Tejas Shah Corteva
2021 David Nagib The Ohio State University POCC Student Choice Lecturer
2020 Osvaldo Gutierrez University of Maryland, College Park
2020 Matt Bio Snapdragon Chemistry
2020 Todd Hyster Princeton University
2020 Jessica Hoover West Virginia University
2020 Niki Patel Merck & Co.
2020 Cheryl Hayward Pfizer Women in Chemistry Lecture
2019 Matthew S. Sigman University of Utah POCC Student Choice Lecturer
2019 Nick Carruthers Janssen Research & Development
2019 Sarah Wengryniuk Temple University
2019 Tomislav Rovis Columbia University The POCC Student’s Choice Lecture
2019 Dustin J. Mergott Eli Lilly and Company
2019 Dustin J. Mergott Eli Lilly and Company
2019 Gregory R. Ott Teva Pharmaceuticals POCC Industrial Award Lecture
2019 Alison J. Frontier University of Rochester
2019 Tianning Diao New York University
2018 Pamela A. Haile GlaxoSmithKline Women in Chemistry Lecture
2018 Jamie McCabe Dunn Merck Process Research and Development
2018 Brian M. Stoltz California Institute of Technology
2018 Dean G. Brown AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
2018 F. Dean Toste University of California, Berkeley The Student Choice Lecture
2018 Tehshik Yoon University of Wisconsin–Madison
2018 Mary P. Watson University of Delaware
2018 Ruth R Wexler Bristol-Myers Squibb Women in Chemistry Lecture
2017 Stephen L. Buchwald MIT Allan R. Day Lecture
2017 Kay Brummond University of Pittsburgh
2017 Philip A. Harris GlaxoSmithKline
2017 Sean P. Brown Amgen
2017 David A. Nicewicz University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Sigma-Aldrich Student Choice Lecture
2017 Spencer D. Dreher Merck & Co. POCC Industrial Award
2017 Krista B. Goodman GlaxoSmithKline Women in Chemistry Lecture
2017 Karl A. Scheidt Northwestern University GSK Lecture
2017 Karl A. Scheidt Northwestern University GSK Lecture
2016 Timothy M. Swager MIT Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center Lecture
2016 Fraser F. Fleming Drexel University BMS lecture
2016 Michael S. VanNieuwenhze Indiana University Bloomington
2016 Michael S. VanNieuwenhze Indiana University Bloomington
2016 Regan J. Thomson Northwestern University
2016 Abigail G. Doyle Sigma-Aldrich Student Choice Lecture
2016 Rodney L. Parsons Bristol-Myers Squibb
2016 Michael J. Sofia Arbutus Biopharma, Inc.
2016 Rodrigo B. Andrade Temple University
2015 L.-C. Campeau Merck & Co.
2015 Amos B. Smith, III Symposium Various
2015 Paul G. Williard Brown University
2015 Thomas M. Stevenson DuPont Crop Protection POCC Industrial Award
2015 Sergey A. Kozmin University of Chicago
2015 Ryan A. Shenvi The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla
2015 Neil K. Garg UCLA
2015 Donald A. Watson University of Delaware
Links to Additional Archives 2014-2010 2009-2005

Awards

On alternate years (even), an all-day symposium is organized in the fall which consists of four seminars given by invited speakers and a dinner. The final speaker of the evening is the receipient of that years' Philadelphia Organic Chemists' Club Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to organic chemistry and service to the scientific community which is given to a member of the academic community.

Allan R. Day Award
An award in memory of Allan R. Day is given once a year in recognition of outstanding contributions to organic chemistry and the awardee presents a seminar on one of the POCC lecture nights.

POCC Award (Discontinued)
On alternate years (odd), an event is organized in the spring which includes an afternoon poster session with presenters from local universities and chemical companies. The day is capped off with a dinner followed by a seminar by the receipient of that years' Philadelphia Organic Chemists' Club Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to organic chemistry and service to the scientific community which is given to a member of the industrial community.

,tr.
Year Award Name Insitution
2024 Allan R. Day Award John Wood Baylor University
2023 Allan R. Day Award Jon Ellman Yale
2022 Allan R. Day Award Melanie Sanford University of Michigan
2017 Allan R. Day Award Stephen L. Buchwald MIT
2017 POCC Award Gregory R. Ott Teva Pharmaceuticals
2016 POCC Award Spencer Dreher Merck & Co.
2015 POCC Award Thomas M. Stevenson DuPont Crop Protection
2015 Allan R. Day Award Amos B. Smith III University of Pennsylvania
2013 POCC Award Bruce D. Dorsey Cephalon/Teva
2011 Allan R. Day Award Douglass F. Taber University of Delaware
2010 POCC Award Marisa C. Kozlowski University of Pennsylvania
2009 POCC Award Christopher Dinsmore Merck Research Laboratories
2009 Allan R. Day Award Dale L. Boger Scripps Research Institute
2008 POCC Award Scott McN. Sieburth Temple University
2007 POCC Award Ahmed Abdel-Magid Johnson & Johnson PRD
2007 Allan R. Day Award Eric N. Jacobsen Harvard University
2006 POCC Award Jeffery Winkler University of Pennsylvania
2005 POCC Award Pat N. Confalone E.I. du Pont de Nemours
2003 POCC Award Allen B. Reitz Johnson & Johnson PRD
2002 POCC Award Franklin A. Davis Temple University
2000 POCC Award Frank Mallory Bryn Mawr College
1998 POCC Award Gilbert Stork Columbia University
1998 Allan R. Day Award Jean-Marie Lehn Université Louis Pasteur de Strasbourg
1997 Allan R. Day Award Samuel J. Danishefsky Columbia University
1996 POCC Award William Nugent DuPont
1996 POCC Award Ralph F. Hirschmann University of Pennsylvania
1996 Allan R. Day Award Ei-Ichi Negishi Purdue University
1995 POCC Award Bruce Maryanoff RW Johnson Pharmaceuticals
1995 Allan R. Day Award Dieter D. Seebach ETH-Zentrum
1994 POCC Award Madeleine M. Joullié University of Pennsylvania
1994 Allan R. Day Award Gilbert Stork Columbia University
1993 Allan R. Day Award K. C. Nicolaou Scripps Research Institute
1992 Allan R. Day Award William R. Roush Indiana University
1991 Allan R. Day Award Yoshito Kishi Harvard University
1990 POCC Award Amos B. Smith, III University of Pennsylvania
1990 Allan R. Day Award Ronald C. D. Breslow Columbia University
1989 Allan R. Day Award Clayton H. Heathcock University of California, Berkeley
1988 Allan R. Day Award Carl R. Johnson Wayne State University
1987 Allan R. Day Award Albert I. Meyers Colorado State University
1986 Allan R. Day Award Edward M. Arnett Duke University
1985 Allan R. Day Award Barry Sharpless Scripps Research Institute
1984 Allan R. Day Award David A. Evans Harvard University
1983 Allan R. Day Award Barry M. Trost Stanford University