History remembers legendary Texas Aggie Gen. James Earl Rudder ’32 for many fearless factors, from his commanding leadership of his Rudder Rangers at Pointe du Hoc during the critical 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy, to his controversial 1963 decision as president of Texas A&M University to admit women to the formerly all-male institution.
As the architect of the modern-day Texas A&M, Rudder made another significant call in 1966 that changed the course for one of the university’s most esteemed present-day academic departments — chemistry — recruiting inorganic chemist Dr. Arthur E. Martell to blaze new trails as head of the department by expanding and enhancing its teaching and research programs.
Five decades later, the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry plans to reflect on Martell’s legacy and that of four subsequently pioneering professors as part of a yearlong celebration commemorating 50 years of chemistry excellence. The celebration, structured around a series of five “excellence events” paying tribute to key professors — each of whom defined specific branches of chemistry at Texas A&M and within the chemical sciences — kicks off next month with the October 14 A.E. Martell Symposium for Inorganic Chemistry. The inaugural event will coincide with the department’s 29th annual Chemistry Open House and Science Exploration Gallery, scheduled for October 15 as part of National Chemistry Week.
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