Dr. Tim Ward (left) works with Millsaps students in the lab
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Dr. Tim Ward, professor of chemistry and associate dean of sciences at Millsaps College, will chair the 19th International Symposium on Chirality in San Diego this July 8-11. He is the first and only professor from an undergraduate institution ever to be awarded this distinction.
“My award as chair of the meeting is a direct reflection of the stature and significance of research at Millsaps,” Ward said.
The conference will begin with a plenary lecture by 2001 Nobel Laureate K. Barry Sharpless, followed by an exciting program of oral and poster presentations. This year’s conference is well represented geographically with scientists from 24 countries. 26 of the oral presentations are from the U.S., 16 from Europe, 14 from Asia, and three from Latin America and the Middle East. All will contain state-of-the-art technology and research in a wide range of topics in the field of chirality. More information is available at www.chirality2007.org.
Dr. Richard A. Smith, senior vice president and dean of Millsaps, praised Dr. Ward for this outstanding accomplishment and its impact on the College. “Serving as chair of the symposium is a huge honor for Dr. Ward and Millsaps College. It speaks to his standing in the field of chirality, his credentials as one of the best teacher-scholars at Millsaps, and, most importantly, to the quality of the learning experiences of the many undergraduates who work with him on his research.”
Chirality comes from the Greek word “chiral,” meaning handedness. While our hands are mirror-images of each other, they are not super-imposable; for example, you can’t fit a left-handed glove in one made for a right hand, and vice-versa.
Ward explained that most biological molecules have chirality, a subject covered at various points in the Millsaps curriculum. “Chirality is first introduced in general chemistry as inherent in the properties of light based on its electric and magnetic fields,” Ward said. “In organic chemistry, chirality is essential in the properties of molecules and how they are arranged around the central atom. And biochemistry looks at proteins, lipids, DNA, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids and their biological properties, which in part are based on their chirality. The general phenomenon of chirality impacts many aspects of everyday life.”
