The inaugural speech of the L.K. Doraiswamy Lectureship Series will be given today at 11 a.m. in Durham Hall.

The lecture series was established to honor L.K. Doraiswamy, distinguished professor of chemical engineering, Herbert L. Stiles, professor of chemical engineering, and Anson Marston, distinguished professor of chemical engineering.

Once a year, an internationally recognized scientist or engineer is selected to present lectures at ISU and The National Chemical Laboratory (NCL). The NCL is India’s premier institution for chemical science research.

This year’s lecturer, James Wei, Princeton University’s dean of engineering, will be speaking on chemical engineering and the millennium.

Wei is an authority on chemical kinetics, catalysis, reaction engineering and cancer chemotherapy, according to a press release. He also has co-authored many books and served as a consulting editor for McGraw Hill Publishing.

“[Wei] is a leading chemical engineer in the United States. He is also very prominent as a researcher and educator,” said Maurice Larson, professor emeritus and coordinator of the lecture series.

In January, Wei will travel to Pune, India to give his speech.

Doraiswamy received his B.S. from the University of Madras and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. He then joined the NCL, where he served as the first non-chemist director.

“[Doraiswamy] made the NCL what it is today,” Larson said.

Doraiswamy has written more than 150 publications and books. He also received the Padma Bhushan Award of the Government of India and the Richard H. Wilhelm Award of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering, according to a press release.

“This being the year of the initial lecture is unique because 1999 is also the 50th anniversary of the NCL,” Larson said.