The Graduate School and the department of chemistry will celebrate the50th anniversary of the first doctor of philosophy degrees at Wayne State with a two-day program Nov. 16-17.

The program will feature chemistry Nobel Laureate Herbert Brown, Wetherill Research Professor emeritus at Purdue University, and adviser to two of the first four Ph.D.s, which were granted by WSU in June 1948.

Brown, a WSU faculty member from 1943 through 1947, at the age of 86 maintains an active research program and will present a lecture on his current work, titled "A General Asymmetric Synthesis Based on Chiral Organoboranes" at the chemistry department's "Frontiers in Chemistry" lecture series at 3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16 , in room 2009 Science Hall. Admission is free and open to the public.

Brown won the Nobel in 1979 for his development of methods for synthesizing organic compounds based on boron.

His methods now are widely used in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

During an invitation-only luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, at McGregor Memorial Conference Center, Brown will offer some reminiscences of the early days of the graduate program. Ruth Davis McNair of West Bloomfield Township, the first student admitted to the Ph. D. program in 1945 and one of the first four to receive the degree, will be on hand for the event.

The other three recipients were Arthur Ash, Paul Bartlett and Howard Pearsall, all of whom are deceased. Kathryn Ash, wife of Arthur Ash, will attend the luncheon. Davis McNair received her degree in physiological chemistry (now the department of biochemistry in the School of Medicine). The others' degrees were in chemistry.

Also on the program will be WSU President Irvin Reid, George Dambach, interim vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, Daniel Walz, former vice president for research and Carl Johnson, distinguished professor and chair of chemistry. For more information call (313) 577-2559.