Join chemistry scholars at the 31st Harry Allen Jr. Symposium Series on Bonding and Structure.
Design, Structural Analysis, and Mechanism of Porous Crystalline Material based Photocatalysts
Dr. Jier Huang
Professor of Chemistry
Boston College
Electrochemical Design of Sustainable, Earth-Abundant Energy Storage Systems
Dr. Niya Sa
Associate Professor of Chemistry
University of Massachusetts Boston
Doped Organic Semiconductors
Dr. Dhandapani Venkataraman
Professor of Chemistry
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Please direct symposium questions to Dr. Julio M. Darcy judarcy@clarku.edu
About the Harry Allen Jr. Symposium Series
The Harry C. Allen Jr. Symposium Series on Bonding and Structure was established in 1986 in recognition of Dr. Allen’s many years of service to Clark University. He joined Clark in 1969 as Chair of the Department of Chemistry. Later administrative roles included Dean of the Graduate School, Associate Provost, and Dean of Research.
Allen was a native of Saugus, Massachusetts and alumnus of Northeastern University (B.S.), Brown University (Sc.M.), and the University of Washington (Ph.D.). After Postdoctoral work at Harvard and Cambridge Universities, and a year of teaching at Michigan State University, Allen joined the National Bureau of Standards as a researcher in molecular structure and spectroscopy. In 1961 he became Chief of the Analytical Inorganic Division, and, in 1965, Deputy Director of the Institute for Materials. From 1966-1969 he served as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Mines. Author of more than 60 published works and past associate editor of the Journal of Chemical Physics, Allen also received awards for outstanding service from the United States Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, and the Bureau of Mines.
About Chemistry at Clark
The chemistry program at Clark began in 1889 as one of the five original academic doctoral programs at the inception of Clark University as a primarily graduate institution. The program existed under the direction of John Nef until 1894 when the department was closed due to financial challenges. The chemistry graduate program was reinstated in 1907 under the direction of Martin Rosanoff after the addition of the undergraduate college to Clark University in 1902 facilitated an expansion of the science faculty. The undergraduate and graduate programs have continued uninterrupted since then under the leadership of Rosanoff, followed by others such as Charles Kraus (1914 – 1925), B. S. Merigold (1926 – 1946), and Harry C. Allen Jr. (starting in 1969).
Our department was initially housed in the Chemical Laboratory building (present day Math/Physics Building), the second building built on campus. In 1959, the Jeppson Laboratory was constructed to house the department. In 1985, the Sackler Science Center was opened as a home for the physical sciences with the addition of a new wing to Jeppson. In 1992, the department was renamed the Gustaf H. Carlson School of Chemistry due to the generosity of Gustaf Carlson (BA ‘26, MA ‘27, D.Sc. ‘77) and became the Gustaf H. Carlson School of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 1999. More than 130 years later, the department continues with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry and biochemistry-and-molecular-biology and doctoral degrees in chemistry and biochemistry.
