Halpern Symposium

The Halpern Symposium 2005 was held in honour of the Lifetime Achievements and Ongoing Legacy of Professor Berthold Halpern (1923 – 1980), FAAS And Foundation Professor of Chemistry at the University of Wollongong. November 2005 was the 25th anniversary of Professor Halpern’s untimely death.

The highlight of the three day meeting was the annual Halpern Lecture followed by the conference dinner. The Halpern Lecturer for 2005 was Roger Summons who is Professor of Geobiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Boston, USA. Professor Summons was awarded BSc (1969) and PhD (1972) degrees in Chemistry from Wollongong University College (then part of the University of NSW) completing his doctoral research in the year in which Professor Halpern became Foundation Professor there.

The Lecture and Dinner were attended by the Departments special guests Mrs Peg Halpern (Professor Halpern’s widow) and her Daughter-in-Law. Also in attendance were former staff and students from the Halpern era.