W.H. Starnes Announced as Distinguished Union Alumni Scholar
Dr. William Starnes, an internationally recognized chemist and Union College alumnus, will return to Union as a Distinguished Alumni Scholar on March 26 and 27.
Starnes will be a guest lecturer in several Union science classes. Involvement with local K-12 educators is also planned.
Starnes is professor emeritus at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. He attended Union from 1950-1952, before completing a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Georgia Institute of Technology. With approximately 490 publications, patents and presentations to his credit, Starnes is a highly-regarded expert in the areas of organic chemistry and polymers, especially poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC).
In 2001, Starnes was named to the Plastics History and Artifacts Program of the Plastics Pioneers Association, an honor given to less than 1,000 individuals worldwide who have had the greatest impact on the history of plastics. He is also a Fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Starnes is a frequent lecturer to a variety of audiences around the world and a sought-after industrial consultant.
Joining Starnes for his Union College visit is wife Sofia, an award-winning poet who will give a public reading of her poetry at Union’s library on March 26 at 7:30 p.m.
Union will hold a reception in honor of the Starnses on Friday, March 27 at 3:15 p.m. in the Sharp Academic Center. The reception is open to the community.
Union College is a private liberal arts college related to The United Methodist Church and located in Barbourville, Ky.
March 12, 2009
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