Named Lectures

George A. Olah was a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Founding Director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. He received the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (unshared) for his contribution to carbocation and hydrocarbon chemistry. His later work focused on the “methanol economy”, where methanol and dimethyl ether are used as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Olah was born in Budapest, Hungary. He earned his Ph.D. from the Technical University of Budapest. In 1957, he worked for the Dow Chemical Company. In 1965, he became Professor of Chemistry at Case Western Reserve University and in 1977, he joined the University of Southern California.

Dr. Olah authored or edited some 24 books and published close to 1500 scientific papers. He held more than 190 patents. He has received many awards and recognitions, including 12 honorary degrees from various universities and were elected a member (or foreign member) of some 20 National Academies and Scientific Societies.

George A. Olah passed away on March 8, 2017 at his home in Beverly Hills, California. He was 89.

The John Stauffer Distinguished Lecture in the Sciences was endowed in 1976 by the John Stauffer Charitable Foundation. The distinguished lecture series was established to give us the opportunity to host outstanding lecturers and celebrate excellent science. In 2001, the Chemistry Department augmented the lecture by a symposium that celebrates the science of our honored guest.

A main group-focused lecture in honor of USC Chemistry boron-expert, Anton B. Burg.

Dr. Carl M. Franklin, Vice President and Professor of Law emeritus, served USC for over 51 years. He and his wife, Carolyn, raised more than $150 million for USC, and they personally donated more than $13 million to various universities and charities, including USC.

Dr. Franklin earned an A.B. in economics from the University of Washington (1931); and an MA in economics from Stanford (1935); an MA in administration from Columbia (1939); and an MBA from Harvard Business School (1940). After serving in WWII, he received a J.D. in law from the University of Virginia (1948). He was Academic Vice President and Professor of Law at the University of Oklahoma (1948 to 1953). In 1956, he earned a Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D.) from the Yale Law School. He and Carolyn came to USC in 1953, where he taught law until 1960, when he became USC Vice President for Financial Affairs.

Dr. Franklin was civic-minded. As President of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities (1964-66), he helped pass an initiative providing state grants to graduate students in public and private California colleges and universities. In 1967, he was President of Town Hall of California (Los Angeles) where he admitted women members for the first time. He served as a Trustee of the Seeley G. Mudd Fund, John Stauffer Trust, and the Donald and Katherine Loker Foundation, among others, where he directed donations of over $100 million to charities in the United States, including over $40 million to USC.

Carl passed away on September 6, 2004, Labor Day, which was fitting because Carl loved to work and was still working for USC when he died at the age of 93.