William Lester, a professor of chemistry at the University of California Berkeley, has been awarded the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) for his outstanding leadership and commitment to the field of chemistry. He will be honored at IAOTP’s annual award gala at the end of the year.
Dr. Lester is honored for his close to six decades as a chemist and educator. He currently serves as a professor, associate director and faculty senior scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and associate dean for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to his roles at the university, he has also served as a physical chemist with the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C., staff scientist and manager with the IBM San Jose Research Laboratory, and director of the National Resource for Computation in Chemistry.
For his successful career, Dr. Lester has received many prestigious awards, including the Outstanding Teacher Award and the Percy L. Julian Award both from the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, and the Outstanding Service Award from the National Science Foundation, among many others. Additionally, he is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, the California Academy of Sciences, and the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.
“Choosing Dr. Lester for this award was an easy decision for our panel to make,” said IAOTP’s President Stephanie Cirami. “He has dedicated close to 60 years to the industry, he is brilliant, his list of accomplishments and accolades are beyond impressive, he is active in numerous organizations and affiliations, he was exactly what we were looking for. We know we will be seeing more outstanding things from this man and hope to spend time with him at the gala.”
Dr. Lester holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree both in chemistry from the University of Chicago. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
