He’s now the esteemed Reynold C. Fuson Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, winner of the Pedler and Robert Robinson Medals, the Aldrich Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, the Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods and a slew of other top honors.
But back before all that, in the early ‘80s, a young, new-to-C-U Scott Denmark inspired a fellow future distinguished professor of chemistry in a with a teaching style not often found in that corner of campus.
Take it away, Michael Harmata.
“What I remember about my time as a Ph.D student is the raw enthusiasm for chemistry displayed by Scott Denmark. He was a newbie at Illinois the year I came, a first-year assistant professor.
“When he gave his talk on his research interests, it was so filled with energy and enthusiasm that I was hooked. I had never seen such a grand display of the love of organic chemistry and it synced perfectly with the way I felt at the time.
“The rest is history,” says Harmata, himself now the Norman Rabjohn Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Missouri.
