Nobel winner to speak at Coast

Stratospheric ozone depletion, global warming and global smog are issues that will be discussed next Tuesday afternoon at Orange Coast College by Nobel Prize-winning atmospheric chemist F. Sherwood Rowland.

Rowland will speak at 2 p.m. in the Robert B. Moore Theatre. Admission is free.

Rowland served many years as chairman of the Department of Chemistry at UC Irvine. He is a member of UCI’s emeritus faculty.

Rowland was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1995 for his work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone. He refers to the earth’s ozone layer as the “Achilles heel of the biosphere.”

Rowland, a graduate of the University of Chicago, first taught chemistry at Princeton University in 1952. Four years later he moved to the University of Kansas as an assistant professor of chemistry. In August of 1964, he was named a professor of chemistry and the first chairman of the UCI chemistry department.

In 1973, as a chemical kineticist and photochemist, he began researching chlorofluorocarbon compounds in the atmosphere. Rowland and his research group have been heavily involved in regional and global experiments, often as participants in comprehensive aircraft-based atmospheric field research.

Rowland’s OCC presentation is sponsored by the school’s Sierra Club.

FACULTY MEMBER OF THE YEAR TO DELIVER LECTURE

Leon G. Skeie, an OCC professor of physical education and athletics for 33 years, will be honored April 19 as the college’s faculty member of the year for 2005-06.

Skeie, 64, will deliver a 30-minute public lecture following the awards ceremony. The lecture will focus on his teaching philosophy. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Lounge. Admission is free, and a reception will follow.

Skeie, a Corona del Mar resident, has been a member of OCC’s faculty since 1973. In 2000, he was named the State Community College Organization of Physical Educators fitness and exercise physiology instructor of the year. He served as the college’s athletic trainer and strength coach for his first dozen years on staff.

Since joining the faculty, Skeie helped establish several centers, services and programs on campus for sports medicine and fitness. He started OCC’s Sports Medicine Center, and assisted in establishing an Exercise Science Lab, a Strength Lab and the college’s Adapted Physical Education Program. He has also developed numerous OCC professional physical education courses.

Skeie is director of OCC’s Fitness Specialist Certification Program, which he helped to establish 27 years ago. It was the first accredited program for personal trainers in the United States.

A native of Story City, Iowa, Skeie earned his bachelor of science degree in physical education and biological sciences at Iowa State University. He remained at Iowa State to pick up a master’s in science in physical education.