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"Alpha," a spherical porcelain buckyball was the first piece of the Buckminsterfullerene Presentation Series and was presented to Sir Harold Kroto on June 8, 1996 who, with Richard Smalley, co-discovered and named buckminsterfullerene C60 molecule in 1985. This presentation occured during his special public lecture in the gallery of the Buckminster Fuller Insitute in Santa Barbara. Professor Kroto, who has an interdisciplinary background in the sciences, is known for his contributions to the fields of astrophysics and chemistry. Before discovering buckminsterfullerene, Kroto's pioneering contributions to microwave spectroscopy and radioastronomy were already well known in Europe. Kroto also has a love for graphic arts and design and teaches at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. Kroto has recently published some of the foremost books on fullerenes. He continues his research on their basic chemistry and their role in interstellar space. He can be reached at the School of Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Science, University of Sussex, U.K. Professor Kroto was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Richard Smalley and Robert Curl in 1996. Return to Presentation Series Introduction Page