Ullyot Lecture and Award: Ben Feringa

The 2026 Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture and Award features Nobel laureate Ben Feringa. A Q&A session and the presentation of the Liberty Bowl follows Feringa’s lecture. Exploring the current frontiers of chemical sciences, there is uncharted territory in experiencing the joy of discovery. Far beyond nature’s design, the creative power of synthetic chemistry provides unlimited opportunities to realize our own molecular world as we experience every day with products ranging from drugs to displays that sustain modern society. In their practice of the “art of building small,” chemists and other scientists have shown amazing success in the past decades, producing the materials for everyday life, including our pharmaceuticals, cars, and smart phones. At the dawn of the next revolution in synthetic chemistry and nanotechnology, there is the promise to go far beyond our current frontiers. Our research program is focused on synthesis and molecular nanoscience building tiny motors and machines. An essential feature of life is motion, which is evident from the fact that we can walk, talk, see, and reproduce. Moving from static molecules and materials to dynamic molecular systems, the fundamental challenge is how to control and exploit motion at the nanoscale. In this presentation, Ben Feringa will focus on his journey in the world of molecular nanoscience, designing molecular machines, which are one billionth of a meter in size. Science or science fiction? How did he pave the way to Stockholm? In particular, he will discuss the synthesis and functioning of molecular switches and motors, as well as applications such as smart medicines and responsive materials and artificial muscles. The process of discovery, the art of building small, and the adventure to control motion at the molecular level will also be presented. Feringa will address how fundamental questions, serendipity, and molecular beauty have guided him on this journey. 6pm | Lecture and Award Presentation 7pm | Reception As a courtesy to our awardee, our door policy stipulates that all guests must arrive before 7pm. Bernard L. “Ben” Feringa is the Jacobus H. van ‘t Hoff Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences in the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. His research interests include stereochemistry, organic synthesis, asymmetric catalysis, molecular switches and motors, self-assembly, molecular nanosystems, and photo pharmacology. In 2016 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Feringa “for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.” He received this award jointly with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, who delivered the 2016 Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture. Feringa’s research has been recognized with numerous other awards, including the 2017 Tetrahedron Prize and the 2018 European Chemistry Gold Medal. He was elected as a member of the European Research Council and foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 2019, and in 2020 as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (United Kingdom). Feringa is an Academy Professor of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2008 he was knighted by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Feringa received his PhD at the University of Groningen and worked as a research scientist at Shell in the Netherlands and U.K. before returning to Groningen as a lecturer in 1988. The Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture emphasizes the positive role that the chemical and molecular sciences play in our lives. It’s presented in partnership with the Philadelphia and Delaware Sections of the American Chemical Society, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, the Department of History and Sociology of Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Saint Joseph’s University. Join our museum educators at 11:30am or 2pm as we visit the history of medicine exhibit to learn about waterborne epidemics from Pennsylvania’s past. Join us in our museum EVERY SATURDAY for a family-friendly program that highlights strange and surprising stories from the history of science! Institute staff will be on hand at the 8th annual celebration of the mighty Delaware with fun, water-themed activities and giveaways. Copy the above HTML to republish this content. We have formatted the material to follow our guidelines, which include our credit requirements. Please review our full list of guidelines for more information. By republishing this content, you agree to our republication requirements.