NEWS

Photo: See Web link below to download a photo of Murray.

CHAPEL HILL – Dr. Royce Murray, a chemistry professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill whose 43-year career has been marked by extraordinary achievement as a scholar and educator, will be honored with a place in the heart of the new Carolina Physical Science Complex.

Chancellor James Moeser today (April 21) announced the naming of the Royce Murray Quadrangle, the largest of the green spaces planned in the complex, during a groundbreaking celebration for the largest contruction project in the university’s history.

The quadrangle was named as part of a $3 million gift from Lowry Caudill, a 1979 UNC graduate and former president of pharmaceutical development at Cardinal Health in Research Triangle Park and his wife Suzi, also a UNC alumna. Murray, Kenan professor and former chemistry department chair, was Lowry’s mentor at Carolina and influenced his career direction.

The Murray Quadrangle will be bordered by new buildings on the present site of Venable Hall, a new physics and astronomy addition behind Phillips Hall, and Sitterson and Carroll Halls, and will serve as the complex’s main point of entry from Columbia Street. Trees, walkways and benches are planned for the space that will serve as a gathering spot for faculty and students. The Murray Quadrangle is expected to be completed in 2009 after building construction ends.

"It’s wonderful to see Royce, a highly respected member of our faculty, honored in such a meaningful way," said Dr. Bernadette Gray-Little, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "His many years of service and scholarship have earned him a place of distinction at Carolina. We’re grateful to Lowry and Suzi Caudill for making this well-deserved recognition possible."

Murray came to UNC in 1960 as an instructor just weeks after earning his Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University in just three years. The Alabama native received his undergraduate degree in chemistry in 1957 at age 20 from Birmingham Southern College.

Murray’s contributions to electrochemistry and the chemistry of new materials are recognized worldwide. Among his research accomplishments, Murray introduced the concept of chemically modified electrodes, tools that are important as chemical sensors, fuel cells and in solar energy conversion. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and editor of Analytical Chemistry.

Murray has garnered countless awards, including the university’s Thomas Jefferson Award in 2001, and the North Carolina Award in Science in 2001. During his 43-year career at Carolina, he has mentored hundreds of graduate and postgraduate students, published more than 460 research articles and editorials and four books, and holds three patents.

In 1967, Murray headed a campus building committee that led to the construction of the William Rand Kenan Laboratories completed in 1971 at a cost of $4.5 million. A chief advocate of the new science complex, Murray has been a leader in its planning.

Murray also has been the driving force behind the chemistry department’s growth to national prominence, especially in analytical chemistry, said Dr. Holden Thorp, a chemistry professor, director of the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center and faculty director of the science complex.

"Faculty at research universities are called to research, teaching and service, and there’s no one that has done better at all three than Royce Murray," said Thorp. "In the tradition of Polk Place and McCorkle Place, Murray Quad will serve as a meeting place and a home to the many informal conversations and musings that make Carolina such a unique place."

The Caudills’ gift is part of the Carolina First campaign goal of $1.8 billion. Carolina First is a comprehensive, multi-year private fund-raising campaign to support Carolina’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university.

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Photo URL: To download a mug shot of Murray, go to: http://www.unc.edu/news/pics/faculty/murray_royce.jpg

Arts and Sciences Foundation contact: Del Helton, (919) 962-8216

News Services contact: Mike McFarland, (919) 962-8593