Professor Gregory Hillhouse was a professor in the Department of Chemistry at UChicago from 1983 to his passing in 2014. In addition to his prominent work as an organometallic/inorganic chemist, he was known as an ardent supporter of the undergraduate chemistry community, serving as the faculty advisor for Benzene and the undergraduate advisor for the Chemistry Department. The Department of Chemistry has established the Gregory L. Hillhouse Memorial Chemistry Undergraduate Fund to honor Greg’s legacy. This fund will support an annual Gregory Hillhouse Lecture, for which the undergraduate Chemistry majors will invite and host prominent speakers. The Fund will also support fellowships to enable undergraduate majors to pursue research in Chemistry labs in the summer. See here for more information regarding contributions to the fund.

Previous speakers for the annual Gregory L. Hillhouse Memorial Lecture have included:

• 2022: Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, Carnegie Mellon University
• 2021: Joanna Aizenberg, Harvard University
• 2020: Moungi Bawendi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• 2019: Richard Schrock, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry)
• 2018: Charles M. Lieber, Harvard University
• 2017: Martin Karplus, Harvard University (2013 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry)
• 2016: Daniel Mindiola, University of Pennsylvania
• 2015: Peter Wolczanski, Cornell University
• 2014: Jonas Peters, California Institute of Technology
• 2013: Vy M. Dong, University of California, Irvine
• 2012: Harry B. Gray, California Institute of Technology

Benzene recently began hosting research lab tours for undergraduate students who are interested in research opportunities in the Department of Chemistry. Many professors, from theorists to experimentalists, opened up their labs to give interested undergrads an inside look at the incredible research being done by the numerous postdocs, graduate students, and other undergraduate students in their groups. If you are interested in this event, please contact one of the student board members for more information.

Every quarter, Benzene hosts a current UChicago faculty member to come to a meeting and speak about his or her own experiences in his or her path to chemistry, as each individual’s path varies widely. These talks are meant to facilitate discussion between faculty and students, as well as provide insight about the different opportunities available in the field of chemistry.

Previous speakers for the “Your Path to Chemistry” series have included:

• 2022: Paul Alivasatos
• Spring Quarter 2021: Anna Wuttig
• Winter Quarter 2020: David Mazziotti
• Winter Quarter 2019: Ka Yee Lee
• Winter Quarter 2018: Scott Snyder
• Spring Quarter 2017: Stuart Rowan
• Winter Quarter 2017: Yossi Weizmann
• Autumn Quarter 2016: Bozhi Tian
• Spring Quarter 2016: Richard Jordan
• Winter Quarter 2016: Paul Nealey
• Autumn Quarter 2015: David Mazziotti

In the spring of 2016, a faculty-student basketball game was inaugurated in honor of Professor Hillhouse, who was a fiercely competitive intramural athlete, tremendously skilled at both basketball and softball. He also played pickup basketball with President Barack Obama. The game will increase connections between faculty and students of the chemistry department and honor Professor Hillhouse with one of his favorite sports.