When Professor Emeritus William C. “Bill” Herndon joined the faculty of the department of chemistry at UTEP in 1972 as a tenured full professor, he was already an internationally recognized scientist. It was a homecoming for him since he had grown up in El Paso and received his BS in chemistry from Texas Western College in 1954. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry at Rice University in 1959 by experimentally determining the heats of formation of various hydrocarbons. While retaining interest in experimental chemistry, he became more interested in the theoretical aspects. Transitioning from simple molecular orbital theory to resonance theory using abstract graph theory he focused on the concept of aromaticity in polyaromatic hydrocarbons. His knowledge of this area was a input to the Rice- and Sussex-  University groups that received the Nobel Prize for their C₆₀ discoveries. Bill Herndon did much to determine the direction of chemistry at UTEP, serving first as department chair and then as Dean of Science. He led by example, working 7 day weeks.

Despite the significance of his research and science, many of us will long remember his ability to mentor and guide students with caring and wisdom coupled with a great humor and overriding sense of fairness.  He was a larger than life personality who poured his whole being into his present, whether working, corralling an audience to listen to his ideas and results, sharing his passion for opera, or, memorably, his inveterate joke telling. It has been suggested that not everyone “got” the jokes, but it is indeed true that all laughed and loved their presentation. Some of our more adventurous UTEP faculty cherish the memories created in Martinos and the Bar Alcazar on Friday nights with visiting seminar speakers. Stories, stories, stories.

Lawrence Ellzey and Keith Pannell
Professors, Department of Chemistry

We are pleased that you have taken the time to visit our web site and learn more about the College of Science at the University of Texas at El Paso. Within our College are the Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Geological Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Physics. We offer B.S. and M.S. degrees in all disciplines and Ph.D. degrees in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computational Science, and Geological Sciences. Interdisciplinary Ph.D. programs in Environmental Science and Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering are also available to our students.

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