Lecture by Nobel Laureate to follow annual 'Hogwarts' event

Chemist Roald Hoffmann will give a lecture, titled “Chemistry’s Essential Tensions: Three Views of a Science,” on Wednesday, April 6, at 8 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom at the College of the Holy Cross. The talk will follow “Hogwarts High,” an event that will feature hands-on science demonstrations and experiments in biology, physics and chemistry. Hogwarts High, which is designed especially for high school students, is at 7 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom. Both events are free, open to the public, and appropriate for a general audience high school-age and up.

Hoffmann, the Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters Emeritus at Cornell University, studied chemistry at Columbia University and Harvard University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1962. He is the recipient of many professional honors, most notably the 1981 Nobel Prize in chemistry (shared with Kenichi Fukui).

A self-described applied theoretical chemist, Hoffmann tries to understand the bonds that hold molecules together. His work examines the preferred three-dimensional shape of molecules and the energies by which these molecules resist change from this optimum arrangement. In his talk, he will discuss chemistry as an art, craft and business as well as its harms and benefits in a manner accessible to high school students.

An accomplished writer, poet and playwright, Hoffmann attempts to bridge the distance between the arts and science. He is known to many for his role as host of the television series on introductory chemistry “The World of Chemistry” and the more recent New York City cabaret series “Entertaining Science.”

Funding for this Jean Dreyfus Boissevain Lectureship in the Chemical Sciences for Undergraduate Institutions was provided by a grant from the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.

Now in its 13th year, the Hogwarts event relates science to magic and the character Harry Potter, making it easier for young people to understand and enjoy science. It is modeled after the “potions” classes offered at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter series. The event is orchestrated by the Holy Cross Science Ambassadors, a group of more than 60 Holy Cross students who work with Worcester-area children to develop an interest in the sciences. They put on science shows for children of all ages throughout the year, both at community schools and at Holy Cross. Hogwarts is the largest and most popular of the events.  A second Hogwarts event, aimed at a K-8 audience, will take place at 6 p.m. on May 1 in the Hogan Campus Center Ballroom.