UW-Madison: New Research Facility Pays Homage To Former UW-Madison Chancellor

CONTACT: Bassam Shakhashiri, (608) 263-4450, shainfest@chem.wisc.edu

MADISON – You can see a noticeable reflection of Irving Shain in the University Research Park, which he began planning in 1982.

Also bearing his imprint are the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine; the UW Hospital’s move to the west campus; the School of Human Ecology as an independent academic unit; the Academic Computing Center, an ancestor of the Division of Information’s Technology; the Chancellor’s Scholars Program; and the School of Music’s Beethoven piano sonata competition.

However, Shain, professor emeritus of chemistry and UW-Madison chancellor from 1977-86, maintains that his most enduring contribution comes through his students.

“My legacy includes the 27 students who earned their Ph.D.s working with me, and their research results,” he says. “Some of them have turned out to be significant. For example, an experimental technique for electrochemical studies now called ‘cyclic voltammetry.’ The paper was published in the journal Analytical Chemistry – among all the articles published in that journal’s first 75 years, that article, based on the Ph.D. thesis of Richard S. Nicholson, was the fourth most frequently cited.”

This particular student went to on receive his degree in 1964. Nicholson is now chief executive officer emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “I knew 40 years ago that Irving Shain was no ordinary man,” he says.

The newest venue testifying to Shain’s achievements will be the Irving Shain Chemistry Research Tower, now ready for action on the corner of Johnson and Charter streets. The UW-Madison Department of Chemistry will host two days of public scientific, educational and artistic celebrations on Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6.

The new tower and its related activities will be a fine and fitting tribute to Shain’s impact on campus, according to current UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley.

“Irv has been and even in retirement continues to be one of the most consistently influential figures in the history of the university,” Wiley says. “He was an inspirational teacher and scholar. As department chair and later as chancellor, his leadership paved the way for the many difficult organizational and administrative modernizations needed for the challenging times he foresaw.”

Bassam Shakhashiri, Shain’s colleague in the Department of Chemistry, organized the dedication with an eye toward involving all ages. In addition to providing educational opportunities for young people, the festivities also will include workshops, hands-on activities and tours beginning at 9 a.m. on May 6, including the mass spectrometry facility, magnetic resonance facility, crystallography laboratory, scanning electron microscope laboratory, chemistry glass shop and more.

But the two days won’t be all science. Shain’s administration was characterized by a great appreciation for the arts.

“Art and science are merely two aspects of the entire range of human endeavor,” he says. A special Shain favorite is the Pro Arte Quartet. Some members of that ensemble will give a free public concert in his honor at 5 p.m. on May 5 in Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall.

The visual arts also will have their say in the person of Beverly Stucker Precious. Her installation “Light Spectra” stands just outside the library in the Daniels wing of the Chemistry Building, 1101 University Ave. She will discuss the intersection between art and science at 1:30 p.m. on May 6 in the Chemistry Library.

The celebrations will begin at 1:30 p.m. on May 5 in Room 1351 of the Chemistry Building, with a dedication ceremony with Gov. Jim Doyle and other state and university officials. Following it will be short presentations by distinguished chemists describing current research and its applications. Topics include fuel cells, nanotechnology, lasers, stem cells and environmentally friendly chemistry. For a complete schedule, visit http://www.chem.wisc.edu, e-mail shainfest@chem.wisc.edu or call (608) 263-4450.

After all, observes former student Nicholson, “It is so cool to have a building named after you!”