UTSA professor emeritus to be honored this week at international symposium
(Oct. 16, 2001)--The American Chemical Society (ACS) and UTSA will honor
UTSA Professor Emeritus B.S. Thyagarajan at their Southwest Regional Meeting
Oct. 17-18 at the UTSA 1604 Campus and Omni Hotel. ACS, the world’s largest
scientific society, has more than 163,000 members. Scholars from nine countries
will speak at the symposium on the recent advances in heterocyclic chemistry.
Thyagarajan was recruited to UTSA as the founding director of the Division
of Earth and Physical Sciences. He established the chemistry, physics and
geology programs in the Division of Earth and Physical Sciences in 1973 when
UTSA was in its infancy. “Dr. T.,” as he was affectionately known,
trained generations of students over his more than 30 years at UTSA.
Thyagarajan’s accomplishments set the foundation for current developments
at UTSA. Today, with six Ph.D. programs in development and four already established,
UTSA has positioned itself to become one of the top-tier research universities
in Texas. Doctoral programs in chemistry and environmental sciences are emerging
during this period of growth.
One of Thyagarajan’s fondest accomplishments is a project he worked on
with the support of the U.S. Department of Defense in 1970. He developed a
preparation for HMX, a high-energy cyclic compound that serves as a propellant
for NASA’s space shuttle liftoffs.
Among Thyagarajan’s other scientific achievements are the discovery and
chemical syntheses of several biologically important natural products. The
synthesis of these compounds led to the invention of new chemical reactions
that are illustrative of the complexity and beauty of nature. These inventions
have proven useful for the preparation of other molecules in laboratories
around the world.
In addition to his scientific research, Thyagarajan has also edited six volumes
of scientific work, written three books and had published numerous articles.
An endowed scholarship at UTSA has been established in his name for students
studying chemistry, physics or geology. Most recently, in memory of his mother,
Thyagarajan created the Parvathammal Endowed Scholarship to go to a geology
student.
For the symposium schedule go to Symposium
Program.
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UTSA professor emeritus to be honored this week at international symposium
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