HYDERABAD, Jan 4: Right from instrumental music to molecular spectroscopy, Nobel laureate Roald Hoffman says everything owes its genesis to nature's symmetry. Hoffman gave a public lecture on "Molecular beauty" here last night at the 85th session of the Indian Science Congress. He received this year's Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award.With chemistry as his focal point, Hoffman tried to illustrate that as long as scientists work in tandem with nature, following the rules of nature and emulate it, man can advance in the right direction. He gave examples to prove that man, with the help of nature and science, is slowly but surely advancing in the right direction. Chiding scientists who think they are larger-than-life, Hoffman said "It is science that actually teaches and unravels the mysteries of the world."
Hoffmann won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1971 for his theories concerning the course of chemical reactions. Since then Hoffmann has investigated the structure ad reactivity of inorganic and
organometallic molecules, from small atomic complexes to clusters containing several transition metal atoms. He also predicted new structural types, some of which have been synthesized by others.
Besides the Nobel prize, Hoffmann has received several awards of the American Chemical Society. He is a distinguished member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, all of whom are prestigious professional bodies.
Hoffmann's other interests include the relationship between the arts and the sciences and the similarities in the creative processes of the two disciplines.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
