Professor Ryan A. Shenvi (The Scripps Research Institute), widely recognized for his work in natural product synthesis and the development of new methods to access complex, biologically active molecules, presented the 2026 John D and Edith M Roberts Lecture at UCLA on April 16.
In his talk titled “Attempts to Deliver on the Promise of Natural Products”, Shenvi discussed his group’s recent findings in the synthesis of complex alkaloids. Professor Soumitra Athavale, who holds the John D. and Edith M. Roberts Term Chair in Organic Chemistry, introduced Shenvi and presented him with a crystal award after his lecture.
Established in 2016, the John D. and Edith M. Roberts lecture honors alumnus and Caltech professor John D. (“Jack”) Roberts (1918-2016), who was one of the most influential chemists of the last 75 years.
The Roberts Lecture is made possible by fund raising efforts spearheaded by Professor Ken Houk and the late Professor Marjorie Caserio, Chancellor Emerita, University of California, San Diego. Caserio was a postdoc in Roberts’ lab in the 50’s and in the 60’s she and Roberts co-wrote the popular textbook Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry.
Houk gave the inaugural Roberts lecture in 2016, and Roberts’ former group members, Professors George Whitesides (Harvard) and David Schuster (NYU), presented at the 2018 Roberts lecture.
World-renowned physical organic chemist and neuroscientist Dennis Dougherty (Caltech) presented the 2021 Roberts Lecture, and Athavale presented the 2023 Roberts Lecture.
In addition to supporting the lecture, funds from many former Roberts group members, the Roberts family, UCLA faculty members, and the Jung matching funds helped to establish the new The John D. and Edith M. Roberts Term Chair in Organic Chemistry.
About John D. Roberts
A true Bruin, Roberts received his B.A. degree at UCLA 1941 and his Ph.D. in 1944 under the direction of William G. Young. He continued at UCLA as an Instructor from 1944-45. Following positions at UCLA, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Roberts joined the organic chemistry faculty at Caltech in 1952. To learn more about Roberts’ life and accomplishments, read the special tribute to Roberts written by Ken Houk and alumna Dr. Fang Liu (Ph.D. ’14 Houk group), which was published in the February 14, 2018 issue of the Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penjen@g.ucla.edu.
