Named Lectures

The Arthur Fry Lecture Series

Art Fry joined the department in 1951 and played amajor 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 MontanaState University.
After serving in the Navy during WWII, 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.
Fry 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.

The Arthur Fry Lecture series began in 1997 through a generous donation from alumni, the late Ves Childs, M.S. ‘60, Ph.D. ‘63, and Holly Childs, B.S. 62, to honor the late Dr. Fry’s accomplishments and years of unselfish devotion to the department.

Ves Childs was a native Arkansan who obtained 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 the University of Tulsa. Both Ves and Holly Childs retired from research positions at the 3M Corporation.

The Pulay Lecture Series

Dr. Peter Pulay is the Roger B. Bost Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Arkansas. His main contributions are methods and applications of electronic structure theory.

These include the direct calculation of analytical gradients or forces acting on the nuclei which enabled the efficient determination of molecular geometries; the calculation of force constants and, from this, infrared and Raman spectra of molecules; convergence acceleration of the basic selfconsistent field method; the calculation of NMR chemical shifts and related quantities including vibrational circular dichroism; local electron correlation methods; parallel algorithms for electronic structure calculations; automatic determination of orbital spaces for strongly correlated systems; and very fast combined quantum/molecular mechanics methods.

Following a dissertation fellowship at Cambridge University (UK), he worked for Biosym (now Accelrys), IBM (where he rose to the rank of Worldwide Vice President of Life Sciences), and Dell (Global Vice President for Healthcare and Life Sciences). He served as CEO of Carify (Austin, TX) and Source Medical (Birmingham, AL) as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board. He is currently CEO of Nature's Toolbox (NTx), a life sciences and bioinformatics company based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.Dr. Jamie M. Coffin's extensive career in high-performance scientific computing and data management has been pivotal in shaping advancements in the industry. With a BS from Louisiana Tech and a PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Arkansas (1989), Dr. Coffin's journey includes notable positions at Biosym (now Accelrys), IBM, and Dell, where he ascended to the rank of Worldwide Vice President of Life Sciences. His leadership roles as CEO of Carify and Source Medical as President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, underscore his profound impact on the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Notably, as President of Sema4, Dr. Coffin led the company from a spinout from Mt Sinai with under 200 employees and $25 million in revenue to a public company with over 1500 employees and more than $200 million in revenue within four years, achieving a valuation exceeding $3 billion at its IPO. Currently serving as CEO and President of Nature's Toolbox (NTx), based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, Dr. Coffin focuses on addressing the biomanufacturing challenges confronting the therapeutic industry today. His dedication to driving innovation and excellence continues to shape the landscape of life sciences and bioinformatics.