In 1996 Sir Derek Barton created the Barton Lectureship through a generous financial gift to the Chemistry Department. The First two lecturers, K. B. Sharpless and K.C. Nicolaou (both from The Scripps Institute) were chosen by Sir Derek and the tradition was inaugurated that the Organic Division and the Head of Department would be guests at a dinner following the lecture. Also a plaque designed by Sir Derek and his wife Judy in the shape of the State of Texas, was presented to the Speaker. After Sir Derek's death in March 1998, the Organic Division met to choose a Barton Lecturer and has done so yearly ever since. Through the generosity of Judy Barton, a new plaque has been created for each speaker and the tradition of a reception and dinner with the Organic Division and the Head of Department has been faithfully maintained.
In choosing the Barton lecturer, the Division and the Department have tried to recognize excellence in organic chemistry as a tribute to Sir Derek's life and work, especially his time spent at Texas A&M University.
The complete list of Barton Lecturers is given below:
1997 - K. B. Sharpless (Scripps)
1998 - K. C, Nicolaou (Scripps)
1999 - S. L. Schreiber (Harvard)
2000 - D. Seebach (ETH, Switzerland)
2002 - P. B. Dervan (Carl Tech)
2003 - S. V. Ley (Cambridge, U.K.)