Penn State University Selected to Host First Honeywell-Nobel Lecture Visit of 2007

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Honeywell and The Pennsylvania State University announced today that Dr. Richard Schrock, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, will visit the campus on March 28th and 29th as part of the Honeywell-Nobel Laureate Lecture Series. These lectures are the centerpiece of a global education initiative launched last year, designed to directly connect students across the globe with Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry and Physics. Penn State is one of only 11 universities worldwide selected to participate in this groundbreaking educational program.

Dr. Schrock, the Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present a lecture for a general audience titled "The Discovery and Development of Alkene and Alkyne Metathesis Reactions," at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, 28 March, in the HUB Auditorium on the University Park campus. It will trace the development of high-oxidation-state organometallic chemistry from 1974 to the present, work for which he was recognized with the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Schrock will also give a specialized scientific colloquium on Thursday, 29 March titled "Catalytic Reduction of Dinitrogen to Ammonia at Room Temperature and One Atmosphere with Protons and Electrons." It will take place at 2:00 pm, in 112 Buckhout Laboratory. The visit will also include other forums and opportunities for interactions between the Laureate and students.

A multi-year effort, the Honeywell-Nobel Initiative combines these on-campus events with interactive web content and broadcast programming designed to link one generation of leading scientists with the development of the next. "Honeywell takes great pride in our relationship with Penn State University," said Honeywell Senior Vice President of Technology and Operations and Penn State Alumnus Larry E. Kittelberger. "We are thrilled that our partnership enables us to share this innovative program with Penn State students in an effort to encourage their highest aspirations in ways that are motivating and engaging."

"I am looking forward to welcoming my fellow scientist, and personal friend, Dick Schrock to our campus in March," said Penn State University Professor and Chemistry Department Head Dr. Ayusman Sen. "He has made enormous contributions to the field of chemistry, as demonstrated by his being awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize. Thanks to the Honeywell-Nobel Initiative, his two days here at Penn State are certain to be a rich and rewarding experience for students and faculty alike."

In addition to the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Schrock's work has been recognized with many prestigious awards, including an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship in 1976, a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award in 1978, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Organometallic Chemistry in 1985, the Harrison Howe Award of the Rochester Section of the ACS in 1990, and an Alexander von Humboldt Award in 1995. In 1996, he received the ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry in recognition of his efforts to develop cleaner and more efficient ways to manufacture chemicals. He also received an ACS Cope Scholar Award in 2001, the Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson Medal in 2002, the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal from the German Chemical Society in 2005, and the F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry from the ACS in 2006.

Schrock is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds 19 patents, has published approximately 450 research papers, and was associate editor of the journal Organometallics for eight years.

Schrock received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of California at Riverside in 1967 and a doctoral degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1971. He was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom for one year, and worked at the Central Research and Development Department of E.I. duPont de Nemours and Co. for three years before joining the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1975.

For exclusive, first-hand access to some of the most important scientists of our time talking about the future of science, please visit: http://www.honeywellscience.com/.

About Penn State:

Established in 1855, The Pennsylvania State University remains committed to its historical land-grant mission of education, research, and service. With over 80,000 students enrolled at 24 campuses across the Commonwealth, the University has become one of the most popular and influential institutions in the country. In 2006, the Washington Monthly ranked Penn State third among all U.S. colleges and universities for fostering social mobility, public service, and economic growth. Visit the University's Web site at http://www.psu.edu/.

About Honeywell International:

Honeywell International is a $30 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Honeywell Hometown Solutions embodies the company's unique approach to corporate citizenship. To date, Honeywell's award-winning science and math education programs -- including FMA Live!, Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy, Presidential Classroom and the Nobel Initiative -- have reached more than 150,000 students and teachers in 27 countries and 43 U.S. states. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, Chicago and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It is one of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is also a component of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For additional information about Honeywell, please visit http://www.honeywell.com/.

Honeywell Contacts: Ross Moonie Jill Stueck (917) 690-5713 (973) 455-3450 rmoonie@gmail.com, OR jill.stueck@honeywell.com Penn State Contact: Kathy Addleman(814) 863-4308 kla9@psu.edu