Noted Analytical Chemist To Deliver 4th Annual Wittliff Lecture At San Marcos Academy

Dr. Richard P. “Rick” Baldwin, Distinguished Educator and Professor of Chemistry, University of Louisville, Kentucky, will be the featured speaker for the 2019 Wittliff Lecture Series at San Marcos Academy.

The Wittliff Lecture, “Better Living Through Chemistry: Mine and Yours,” will be presented at 10:15 a.m. Oct 7 at the Robinson Christian Center on the Academy campus. The event is open to the public.

Dr. Baldwin’s research in analytical chemistry focuses on chemical analyses and instrument development for diverse analytical applications such as the detection of environmental contaminants. He and co-workers at Purdue University were among the first to incorporate computers into chemical instruments which Baldwin advanced to design novel miniaturized coulometric devices, enabling networks for remote 24/7 sensing of toxic metals such as lead and arsenic.

A graduate of Thomas More College in northern Kentucky, Dr. Baldwin received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry in 1976 at Purdue University. During his tenure at the University of Louisville, which has included six years as department chair, Dr. Baldwin has published numerous research works and served for 20 years as editor of Analytica Chimica Acta, an international journal devoted to all branches of analytical chemistry.

The Wittliff Lecture Series at San Marcos Academy recognizes the contributions of Dr. James L. (Jim) Wittliff, distinguished cancer researcher, scholar and inventor, who is a 1956 graduate of SMA.

Established to acknowledge the more than 200 American and international students and research fellows from almost 40 countries who trained in Wittliff’s laboratory, the Lecture Series attracts noteworthy scientists and educators to SMA to advance the Academy’s STEM program.

The intent is to expose students to the career journeys and accomplishments of exceptional individuals who have had an impact on areas of critical importance for mankind’s advancement.

San Marcos Academy is an accredited private Christian school for day students in grades K-12 and boarding students in grades 6-12. For more information, call 512-753-8000.