The University of Northern Iowa Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry is excited to welcome Dr. Cassara Higgins as the guest speaker of this year’s Leland Wilson Lecture Series.

Higgins is a 2016 graduate of UNI, who double-majored in Chemistry and Physics. She later earned her Ph.D. in Radiochemistry from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and currently works as a nuclear chemist at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico. 

Higgins will present a talk titled “79 Years After Oppenheimer: Los Alamos National Lab’s Mission Today” at 7 p.m. Thursday, October 24, in the Lantz Auditorium in McCollum Science Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

Higgins’ talk will explore some of Los Alamos National Lab’s history, and how it continues to be a design agency for nuclear weapons but has expanded its scope greatly since the years of Oppenheimer – with current projects on nuclear non-proliferation, stockpile stewardship, medical and commercial isotope production, high energy physics, climate change and more.  

The Leland Wilson Lecture Series, an endowed lectureship that brings in speakers annually, is named for Professor Leland Wilson, first department head and professor in the Department of Chemistry. It was initiated in 1997 by colleagues, family and former students to honor Professor Wilson's many contributions to UNI.

Contact: Bill Harwood, department head, chemistry and biochemistry, bill.harwood@uni.edu, 319-273-2052.