Dwain L. Ford Lecture Series
The Dwain L Ford Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in honor of former Chair and Professor Dwain L Ford on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the seminar program he started. The Series provides students, faculty and the wider community an opportunity to hear guest speakers from academia, industry and government present topics of current interest and importance in chemistry.
Ford earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1949 from Emmanuel Missionary College. He received his PhD in chemistry from Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1962. Ford then joined the Andrews faculty in 1962 and served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry until 1971.
As department Chair, some of Ford’s lasting achievements includes: focusing the department on the preparation of professional chemists; assisting in the planning for the Science Complex; establishing the seminar program in 1965; transitioning the department to offer a BS Chemistry degree and starting the Berrien County Forensic Laboratory.
He was a member of the American Chemical Society and of Sigma Xi. He held several National Science Foundation Fellowships and participated in a steroid training program sponsored by the National Institute of Health.
Ford served as dean of the Andrews University College of Arts & Sciences for ten years, before returning to teaching organic chemistry in 1981. He retired in 1993 but was called back to teach chemistry in the Andrews University Math & Science Center during the 1994–1995 school year.
For 22 years, he served as the administrator and backup analyst for the Berrien County Forensic Laboratory, where drugs are analyzed on behalf of law enforcement officials. He was the first Andrews University ombudsperson and served in that capacity from 1981–1990.
Ford is married to Lorraine Saline Ford. They have three children. David, Diane and Larry.
More information about the lectureship, including the schedule of presenters, is available on the Chemistry Website.
Past Presentations
Below is the list of the 2015-2016 presentations.
| DATE | TITLE | PRESENTER(S) |
|---|---|---|
| August 27, 2015 | First Seminar | |
| September 3, 2015 | Chemical & Environmental Impact of Gold Mining | Ronald R.H. Cohen, Colorado School of Mines |
| September 10, 2015 | Advances in Drug Discovery & Development | Milton L. Brown, Georgetown University Medical Center |
| September 17, 2015 | Organic Synthesis | Hosea Nelson, University of California, Los Angeles |
| September 24, 2015 | Biomimetic Materials that ‘Talk’ to the Living! | David H. Kohn, University of Michigan |
| October 1, 2015 | Rapid Diagnostic Tests for Sickle Cell Disease | A.J. Kumar, Jana Care |
| October 8, 2015 | Science Journalism | Deborah Blum, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| October 15, 2015 | Opportunities at NIST | Carlos Gonzalez, National Institute of Science & Technology |
| October 22, 2015 | Advances in Nanoscience | Paul S Weiss, University of California, Los Angeles |
| January 7, 2016 | Teaching High School Chemistry | Janelle Lynn Ball, Chico High School |
| January 14, 2016 | Therapeutic Opportunities for Lupus | J. Michelle Kahlenberg, University of Michigan |
| January 21, 2016 | Building Brighter Probes For Biomedicine | Luke D. Lavis, Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Janelia Center |
| January 28, 2016 | Geochemistry of Sinkholes | James Kaufmann, U.S. Geological Survey EROS Center |
| February 4, 2016 | Green Catalytic Synthetic Methods | Kami Lee Hull, University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign |
| February 11, 2016 | NanoDiamonds | Vadym Mochalin, Drexel University |
| February 18, 2016 | Relevant Chemistry | Joseph Fortunak, Howard University |
| February 25, 2016 | GUMBO Research with QCM Technology | Isiah M. Warner, Louisiana State University |