International symposium honours late chemistry professor

Dec 01, 2005

A range of international speakers and scientists converged on the University of Wollongong this week (28-30 November) to participate in the Halpern Symposium.

The conference celebrated the life and legacy of Bert Halpern - the former Foundation Professor of the Department of Chemistry who had research interests in biological applications of mass spectrometry, organic synthesis and drug design.

Now 25 years since the death of Professor Halpern, the University continues to honour his memory and contributions to science through an annual lecture presented by a distinguished scientist.

This lecture was the central feature of the conference this week and was presented by Professor Roger Summons -- Professor of Geobiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.

Professor Summons studied his Bachelor of Science and PhD in Chemistry at Wollongong University College (then part of the University of NSW) and worked for 18 years at the Australian Geological Survey Organisation where he was a member and then leader of a research team studying the distinctive nature and habitat of Australian petroleum systems and the evolution of the biogeochemical carbon cycle.

The conference also featured guest speakers from institutions including UOW, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Kiel, University of Manchester, and a number of Australian universities.

Speakers discussed the advances in mass spectrometry technology, of which Professor Halpern was a pioneer. He developed a computer controlled quadruple mass spectrometer and applied gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) techniques to screen for inborn metabolic disorders.

While at Wollongong, he also developed methodology to sequence protein using a combination of simple chemistry and GC-MS.

The symposium was presented by UOW's Department of Chemistry and jointly supported by the Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (Organic, NSW).