DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

The Ratner Lectures

The Mark A. Ratner Series of Scholars was established through generous donations from former students and colleagues as an annual event hosted by Northwestern Chemistry. The series honors the contributions of Emeritus Professor of Chemistry Mark Ratner.

Mark Ratner was a Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern from 1975–2015 and served as Emeritus Professor of Chemistry from 2015–2026. He served as department chair on two separate occasions, from 1988–1991 and 2009–2012. During his more than 40 years in the department, he mentored more than 150 students and postdoctoral researchers, was named to Northwestern’s Faculty Teaching Honor Roll 11 times, received the University Distinguished Teaching Award, and taught roughly 5,000 students in general chemistry. In addition, he was one of the founders of the Institute for Sustainability and Energy at Northwestern and served as co-director from 2008–2013. Ratner also served as Interim Dean of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences from 2014–2015 and as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1980–1984.

Mark Ratner was one of the most influential chemists of his generation. He was best known for introducing the concept of using a single molecule as a component in an electrical circuit, an idea that spurred more than 40 years of basic and applied research. He also authored two textbooks — Introduction to Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry (2001) and Quantum Mechanics in Chemistry (1993) — as well as two books on nanotechnology for general audiences: Nanotechnology: A Gentle Introduction to the Next Big Idea (2003) and Nanotechnology and Homeland Security (2004). Over the course of his career, he published nearly 1,000 papers in the areas of magnetism, quantum interference, organic solar cells, non-linear optics, protein folding, and self-assembly.

In addition to being one of the preeminent chemists of his time, Professor Ratner was known for his scholarship and interest in a wide range of subjects beyond chemistry. In honor of those interests and his drive for knowledge, the series annually hosted a scholar outside the field of chemistry to spend the day interacting with students and faculty, primarily within the science and engineering departments. The scholar was chosen by a committee of students as someone they believed would spark the imagination of a broad range of scientists by immersing the Department of Chemistry in a field to which it might not otherwise have been regularly exposed.

Past Ratner Lecturers