Alumni Highlight - Lawrence Nathan, Ph.D. 1970
Professor Lawrence Nathan, Ph.D. 1970
After graduating from the University of Utah Department of Chemistry in 1970, Professor Lawrence Nathan had 33 years of devoted career in chemistry at Santa Clara University, located in the heart of Silicon Valley in California. He retired in 2003 and currently holds the title of Professor Emeritus.
Professor Nathan received his BA in Chemistry from Linfield College and Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from the University of Utah with Professor Ronald O. Ragsdale. As for his time at the University of Utah, Dr. Nathan enjoyed working with Professor Ragsdale, Bob Perry, and everyone in the Ragsdale research group.
Dr. Nathan joined the SCU Chemistry Department in 1970 as an assistant professor, was granted tenure in 1976, and was promoted to associate professor. During the summer of 1976 and 1977, he was a visiting associate professor at the Department of Chemistry at the University of Utah. His outstanding blend of teaching, scholarships, and service earned him a promotion to full professor in 1988.
According to his College Dean, Dr. Nathan was one of SCU's most widely known and greatly respected faculty members. He served on fifteen University and four College committees, highlighted by seventeen years of exemplary service on a blend of College and University Rank and Tenure Committees. One of his most crucial service contributions was to the so-called Duggan Committee, which set forth new and standardized procedures for evaluating faculty candidates for tenure or promotion.
Dr. Nathan served as chair of the chemistry department for seven years. During that time, he shepherded a $3.5 million renovation of the Daly Science chemistry building.
He published dozens of papers, most scientific and some in chemical education. He also authored two laboratory manuals. Dr. Nathan engaged in research projects with 47 SCU majors over the years. Many of his papers have been co-authored with these undergraduate students.
The courses he taught at Santa Clara University were Chemistry for Non-science Majors, General Chemistry I and II for Science/Engineering Students, Quantitative Analysis, Descriptive Inorganic Chemistry, Computer Applications in Chemistry, Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, Instrumental Methods I and II, Use of the Chemistry Literature, and Undergraduate Research.
Some of Dr. Nathan’s professional affiliations and honors were: 1966 - 2003 member of the American Chemical Society, 1970 - 2003; member, Sigma XI- The Scientific Research Society of Northern California; 1974 Honorable Mention, Outstanding Teacher, chosen by the Santa Clara graduating class of 1974; 1979 Honorable Mention, Excellence in Teaching Award Northern California Association of Phi Beta Kappa; 1979 Santa Clara University President's Faculty Special Recognition Award, for excellence in teaching, research, and University service; 1999 Dean's Special Appreciation Award, SCU College of Arts & Sciences, in recognition of outstanding service as Chair of the Chemistry Department, 1992 - 1999; 2001 The Professor Joseph Bayma, S.J., Scholarship Award, from the College of Arts & Sciences, Santa Clara University, in recognition of having established among colleagues and students a well-deserved reputation for productive, meaningful, and rigorous scholarly or creative work and for having demonstrated the ability to motivate other scholars or artists, teachers, and learners.
Dr. Nathan’s teaching has undoubtedly left the most profound imprint during his time at Santa Clara. His insistence on learning it right and well is something that almost all Santa Clara chemistry grads took with them into their careers.
These days, Dr. Nathan enjoys his retirement in Arizona, playing golf. He scored 76 on his 78th birthday (see picture, courtesy of Dr. Nathan).
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