Maurice Bursey
Published on July 5, 2018He taught chemistry for 30 years and wrote the book on Carolina chemistry history.
He taught chemistry for 30 years and wrote the book on Carolina chemistry history.
Carolina chemistry professor Francis Venable’s exams always began with the question, “What is chemistry?”
The acceptable answer was: “That branch of sciences which investigates … the synthesis and analysis of matter.”
That definition only scratches the surface of what chemistry involves today, says Maurice Bursey. But he also says the question was a good starting point. An award-winning professor emeritus of chemistry, Bursey wrote the history book on the department,Carolina Chemists, published in 1982 to celebrate the centennial of Venable’s arrival on campus. Another book, seven years later, focused exclusively on Venable.
Read the complete Carolina Story from the UNC College of Arts & Sciences…Opens in new window
The Department of Chemistry in the UNC College of Arts & Sciences celebrates its 200th anniversary in 2018.
This is story number 204 in the Carolina Stories 225th Anniversary Edition magazine.
