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Dr. Wrighton is Chancellor and Professor of Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis. As Chancellor, he is the chief executive officer of the University and reports to the Board of Trustees. Wrighton was elected the 14th Chancellor in the Spring of 1995 and assumed his duties on July 1, 1995.
Born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1949, Wrighton received his B.S. degree with honors in chemistry from Florida State University in 1969. While at Florida State he studied under Professor Jack Saltiel and upon graduation received the Monsanto Chemistry Award for outstanding research. He did his graduate work at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) under Professors Harry B. Gray and George S. Hammond, receiving his Ph.D. there in 1972. His doctoral dissertation was on "Photoprocesses in Metal-Containing Molecules." He was named the first recipient of the Herbert Newby McCoy Award at Caltech based on his research accomplishments. He received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of West Florida in 1983 and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Caltech in 1992. In 1995 he delivered Caltech's commencement address.
Wrighton is the author or co-author of more than 400 articles published in professional and scholarly journals, and he has 14 patents. Wrighton started his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1972 as Assistant Professor of Chemistry. From 1981 until 1989 he held the Frederick G. Keyes Chair in Chemistry. In 1989 he was appointed the first holder of the Ciba-Geigy Chair in Chemistry. He was Head of the Department of Chemistry from 1987-1990 and became Provost of M.I.T. in 1990, a post he held until the summer of 1995.
Wrighton currently serves as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Cabot Corporation, Helix Technology Corporation, Ionics, Inc., and OIS Optical Imaging Systems, Inc. He is also a member of the Corporation of Draper Laboratory (1994-present) and served on the Board of Overseers of the Boston Museum of Science (1991-1997) and served previously as a member of the Corporation of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (1991-1995). In St. Louis, he is a trustee of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the St. Louis Symphony, the St. Louis Art Museum, the St. Louis Science Center and the Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School, a director of the United Way, and an ex officio member of Civic Progress and the Board of Directors of the Regional Commerce and Growth Association. | 