Robert J. Levis, chair of Temple’s Chemistry Department and director of the Center for Advanced Photonics Research, will be presented with the 2007 Philadelphia Section Award by the American Chemical Society during an on-campus ceremony Oct. 18.

This award recognizes an individual “who, by conspicuous scientific achievement through research, has made important contributions to man's knowledge and thereby aided the public appreciation of the profession.”

Following a reception from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on the first floor of Beury Hall, Levis will present “Strong Field Chemistry: From Photonic Reagents to Standoff Detection,” a free lecture open to the university community in Beury, room 162. The private award banquet will follow in the Diamond Club.

Since the award’s creation in 1962, Levis becomes only the fourth Temple faculty member to receive the Philadelphia ACS Section Award, and the first since 1980. College of Science and Technology Dean Hai-Lung Dai and Chemistry Professor Franklin Davis also received the award, while at other institutions.

Levis, a pioneer in laser-based chemistry, adaptive photonics and bio-photonics, joined Temple’s chemistry faculty in 2003 and created the Center for Advanced Photonics Research. Strong field chemistry uses ultrafast-lasers to produce intense laser pulses that create enormous electric fields around a molecule. Levis and his group began pioneering this new technology more than a decade ago. Current applications are in the fields of chemical warfare agent detection, cyclic ozone production, standoff detection and bio-molecule mass spectrometry.

For more information, contact Bobbi Johnson in the Chemistry Department at 215-204-6738.