The New York University Department of Chemistry is honored to announce the establishment of the McNelis Lecture in Chemistry in 2017.
Edward J. McNelis was Professor of Chemistry at New York University from 1967-2003. An active scholar and devoted teacher, Professor McNelis made numerous contributions at many levels. While his research was focused in organic chemistry, he was an intellectual whose interests were broad. He was Department Chair in the 1980's, when he provided leadership in all aspects of our department. The design of the lecture series logo includes a typical product of a reaction known as “The McNelis Rearrangement,” coined by Professor Gerald F. Koser of The University of Akron, in his review article in the anniversary issue of Aldrichimica Acta, "1951-2001: Fifty Years of Chemists Helping Chemists."
The Edward J. McNelis Lecture in Chemistry was established with generous gifts from Professor McNelis’ sons, Joseph and John. Joseph is a gastroenterologist who relocated with his family to Fargo, North Dakota. John is the Chair of Surgery at Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital, and Professor of Clinical Surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. NYU Chemistry is proud to honor their father's memory with this annual lecture series.