AUSTIN, Texas—Dr. Allen Bard, the Norman Hackerman-Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, will receive the William H. Nichols Medal from the American Chemical Society on April 15 in New York for his work on the scanning electrochemical microscope, which allows chemical reactions and structures mere nanometers in diameter to be studied.
In addition to helping develop that microscope, Bard and his lab study the interaction between such things as electricity, light and organic molecules. He jointly discovered electrogenerated chemiluminescence, the use of electricity to add electrons to molecules to make them glow during reactions. From this finding, an immunoassay test to identify and calculate precise amounts of substances using attached proteins called antibodies was developed. This chemiluminescent test is frequently used in countless labs across the country by infectious disease workers, geneticists, microbiologists and other investigators.
Bard’s previous honors include the 2002 Priestley Medal, his seventh award from the American Chemical Society, and a 2003 Presidential Citation from the university. He joined the university in 1958 as an instructor and became a full professor in 1967. Bard edited the Journal of the American Chemical Society for 20 years, has given more than 90 lectureships and has served on editorial advisory boards of 21 scientific journals. A member of many professional organizations, he has chaired the chemistry sections of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The caliber of his innovative research is reflected in his more than 700 published research papers and his 25 patents.
For more information contact: Barbra Rodriguez, College of Natural Sciences, 512-232-0675.
