Arthur Fry Lecture Series

The Arthur Fry Lecture Series

The Arthur Fry Lecture Series began in 1997 through a generous donation from UA alumni Ves and Holly Childs to honor University Professor Emeritus Art Fry’s accomplishments in research, teaching and mentoring, and for his many years of unselfish devotion to the department of chemistry and biochemistry.

Arkansas native Ves Childs holds an undergraduate degree from Southern Arkansas University, and a doctorate degree in chemistry from the University of Arkansas.

Holly Childs holds undergraduate degrees in both mathematics and chemistry from the University of Arkansas, and a graduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Tulsa University. Both Ves and Holly Childs are retired from research positions at the 3M Corporation.

Arthur Fry Lecturers

1997-1998 Ves Childs
1998-1999 Mary L. Good
1999-2000 Tayyaba Hasan
2000-2001 Brian Fry
2001-2002 Dan Singleton
2002-2003 John Wood
2003-2004 T. Don Tilley
2004-2005 Ernest Eliel
2005-2006 Nate Lewis
2006-2007 Eric Anslyn

Arthur Fry, University Professor Emeritus

Art Fry joined the Chemistry Department, as it was known then, in 1951 and played a major role in the establishment of the department’s doctoral program. For the next 40 years, he continued to provide leadership, serving two terms as department chair in the 1950s and 1960s.

He was educated in his home state of Montana, where he received a bachelor’s degree from Montana State University. After serving in the Navy during World War II, he worked for two years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He then received his doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley, working with Nobel Laureate Melvin Calvin.

He earned worldwide recognition as the "father of heavy atom isotope effects in elucidating the mechanisms of organic reactions," for his pioneering research in the use of C-13, C-14, N-15, Cl-37, and O-18 to study the mechanisms of ketone rearrangements and numerous other organic reactions. In 1985, he was awarded the American Chemical Society Southwest Region Chemist Award.

In 1984, Fry became one of the first University Professors. Though he retired in 1991, he continues to be active in the department.