The Conferring of Honorary Degrees
Robert Howard Grubbs

Citation Presented by Amy E. Witter, Associate Professor of Chemistry
Conferring of the degree by William G. Durden, President

Robert Howard Grubbs, teacher, scholar, mentor, and most recently, co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, we honor you today for your distinguished accomplishments as a teacher and a scholar in the field of organo-metallic chemistry. Your quest to understand the fundamental chemistry of catalysts involved in commercially important metathesis reactions, has led to a more efficient industrial production of new pharmaceuticals, herbicides, and polymers, while generating less hazardous waste in the process. In your work, you seek to build new molecules, and to then use these molecules for novel applications in fields as diverse as medicine, agriculture, and materials science. The years ahead promise many new discoveries as a consequence of your work.

Your fascination with construction began early. As a farm boy growing up in Possum Trot, Kentucky, in a house that your father built, you were strongly influenced by the women in your family to become a lifelong learner. Your grandmother set the bar, reading, telling stories, and maintaining an intellectual level that was unusual in rural Kentucky at that time. Your mother taught school while pursuing a teaching degree, earning her Bachelor's degree 28 years later. Your father complemented their strengths as a practical mechanic and engineer. Together, they laid the foundation upon which your education grew. The seeds of scientific curiosity were sown by a favorite junior high school science teacher, that led you to pursue bachelor's and masters degrees in chemistry from the University of Florida, followed by a Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University. After your post-doctoral training at Stanford University, you became a faculty member at Michigan State University. You later moved to the California Institute of Technology in 1978, where you are currently the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry. You have published over 400 scientific articles and you hold over 80 patents. You are a recipient of numerous awards, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and you have mentored over 100 very talented students, post-docs, and other colleagues in your career.

Sir Isaac Newton once said “If I have seen further than certain other men, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” By this he meant that he relied on prior knowledge generated by scientists such as Kepler and Galileo to understand the meaning and context of his work. Dr. Grubbs, you have served as an inspiration for many young scientists, including your former protégé,

Dickinson trustee Chad Mirkin, class of 1986, and you have contributed significant new knowledge in chemistry that has revolutionized the design and production of a multitude of chemicals. For those accomplishments, you are, and will be, known as one of the “giants of chemistry.” President Durden, I am honored to present to you Dr. Robert H. Grubbs for the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science.

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Robert H. Grubbs , upon the recommendation of the Faculty to the Board of Trustees, and by its mandamus, I confer upon you the Degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa, with all the rights, privileges, and distinction thereunto appertaining, in token of which I present you with this diploma and cause you to be invested with the hood of Dickinson College appropriate to the degree.

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