The Department of Chemistry is fortunate to receive generous sponsorship from a number of individuals and corporations, whose support makes it possible to host the following talks.
Visit the A.R. Gordon Distinguished Lecture area of our website to learn more about our flagship lecture series.
About our Named Lectureships
The Sigma-Aldrich lectureship focuses on outstanding contributions in the area of organic chemistry and its applications.
This Lectureship is sponsored by Millipore Sigma, a leading supplier for the research, fine chemicals and biochemistry markets. Aldrich, a subsidiary of Millipore Sigma, was founded in 1951 by Canadian chemist Dr. Alfred Bader, who led its growth into one of the most important suppliers of organic research chemicals worldwide.
About the Peter Yates Lecture
Peter Yates was a leading professor at U of T and all of Canada in the area of structural organic chemistry.
Educated in England, Yates did a postdoctoral fellowship with R. B. Woodward at Harvard, going on to accept an offer to be a professor at Harvard.
Professor Yates was a very popular research mentor and teacher at Harvard, with many notable students. After a few years at Harvard, he moved to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto where he informally led the organic/biological chemistry faculty team for decades.
Over the years of his career, students in the Peter Yates lab group produced many new compounds that were stored in his labs on the fifth floor of Lash Miller. After his passing, Professors Ron Kluger and Mark Lautens of the Department of Chemistry contacted chemists at FMC, an agrichemicals company, and exchanged the compounds and notes on their creation for funds which, along with donations from others in Yates's memory, were used to establish the Yates lectureship. Further donations in his memory continue to this day.
The first Peter Yates Lectures were given by Professor Samuel Danishefsky, a leader in carbohydrate chemistry, who had received his PhD with Professor Yates at Harvard in 1962.
About the Organic Syntheses Lecture
Organic Syntheses is a nonprofit scientific organization and journal dedicated to advancing the practice of synthetic organic chemistry by publishing detailed, reliable, and rigorously verified experimental procedures for the preparation of organic compounds. Since 1921, its mission has been to provide the chemistry community with reproducible methods that are independently checked in the laboratory of a member of the Board of Editors, ensuring a uniquely high standard of accuracy, transparency, and practical utility.
Beyond its publication activities, Organic Syntheses, Inc. supports research and education in organic chemistry through a range of philanthropic initiatives, including lectureships, workshops, and grants to Primarily Undergraduate Institutions. The Organic Syntheses Lectureship Series at the University of Toronto is made possible through this support, bringing leading researchers to campus and fostering the exchange of ideas that inspire and train the next generation of synthetic chemists.
About the LRG-TRC Lecture
Founded in 1982, Toronto Research Chemicals (TRC) manufactures complex organic small molecules for end-users in the biomedical fields. Their current catalogue features over 350,000 products and TRC employs around 450 full time staff, including about 250 PhD and MSc scientists. In 2019, TRC became a subsidiary of LGC, a global leader in the life science tools sector. Over the years, TRC has employed many graduate students in chemistry from the University of Toronto and around Canada.
This Lectureship Series further strengthens the longstanding ties between LGC-TRC and the University of Toronto, while supporting the Department’s academic and training mission. By bringing leading researchers to campus, the series enriches the educational environment and helps inspire and develop the next generation of chemists.