Slayton A. Evans Jr. facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Slayton A. Evans Jr.
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| Born | May 17, 1943 Chicago, Illinois
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| Died | March 24, 2001 (aged 57) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Tougaloo College Case Western Reserve University |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Conformational analysis Stereochemistry Organophosphorus chemistry |
| Institutions | Dartmouth College (1972–1973) University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1974–2001) |
Slayton A. Evans Jr. (born May 17, 1943 – died March 24, 2001) was an American chemist and a professor. He taught at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Dr. Evans was a top scientist who studied a special type of chemistry called organophosphorus chemistry. His work helped us understand how certain chemicals, called organophosphates, work. He also found new ways to make chemical compounds used in medicines.
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Growing Up and Learning Chemistry
Slayton Alvin Evans Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois, on May 17, 1943. His parents were Corine M. Thompson Evans and Slayton A. Evans, Sr. A few months after he was born, his father went to serve in World War II. When Slayton was three, his family moved to Meridian, Mississippi. They lived in a public housing area that was segregated at the time. His father worked at a J. C. Penney store.
Slayton became interested in chemistry very early. He received a chemistry set as a gift. He also had a small microscope, which he used to look closely at plants and insects. Slayton and his two younger siblings went to a primary school run by the Roman Catholic Church. This school was also segregated. Later, he attended St. Joseph's High School.
In 1957, when Slayton was in ninth grade, he heard about the artificial satellite Sputnik. This news made him want to learn about rockets and even build his own. The nuns at his school let him buy chemicals to make rocket fuel. He had to make his own powdered charcoal for the fuel. He built six rockets, and two of them actually flew into the air!
School and College Life
Slayton helped pay for his school by mowing lawns. In eighth grade, he worked as a junior assistant janitor at his elementary school. Later, he worked in the high school cafeteria. During his third year of high school, he thought about joining the Air Force. However, he was too tall to become a pilot.
He took several tests and won a scholarship to Tougaloo College. He also received a sports scholarship to play basketball there. He started at Tougaloo in 1961. By the end of his first year, Slayton had the best grades in chemistry in his class.
He got a summer job at a medicine company called Abbott Laboratories in Chicago. First, he made chemical compounds from raw materials. Later, he learned to identify the different steps in chemical reactions. Slayton graduated from Tougaloo in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry.
He was encouraged to go to graduate school, but he wasn't sure how to pay for it. He briefly attended the Illinois Institute of Technology. Then, he transferred to Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he was offered a job as a research assistant in the chemistry department.
In his first year, he received a notice to join the military for the Vietnam War. University officials contacted the draft board. They explained that Slayton's research was important for the war effort. He was working on a medicine to treat schistosomiasis. This disease is caused by tiny worms and was common in Southeast Asia. He finished his classes in 1969 and earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry in early 1970.
Research and Teaching Career
After getting his Ph.D., Dr. Evans worked as a research fellow at the University of Texas at Arlington for a year. Then, he had another fellowship at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. There, he worked with a famous chemist named Ernest L. Eliel and studied stereochemistry. This is about how atoms are arranged in 3D space.
In 1972, he was invited to be a research instructor at Dartmouth College. But they didn't have the right lab equipment for his research. So, in 1974, Dr. Evans joined the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He was the first African-American chemistry professor at that university. After 10 years, he became a full professor. In 1992, he received a special honor called a Kenan Professor chair.
Dr. Evans was a top researcher in organophosphorus chemistry. He wrote more than 85 scientific articles about organosulfur and organophosphorus chemistry. His work helped us understand how organophosphate compounds work. He also found new ways to make chemical compounds for medicines.
He was inspired by William Standish Knowles, who in 1968 found a way to make chemicals using a method called asymmetric hydrogenation. Dr. Evans used this idea to develop his own methods. He wanted to make specific types of chemical structures called stereoisomers.
In 1970, Dr. Evans started working with organophosphorus chemistry. He developed a process using phosphorus atoms to create specific stereoisomers. He also found a way to make alpha-amino phosphonic acids by adding phosphorus to sulfimides.
At the University of North Carolina, Dr. Evans built a research team. It included students from college, graduate school, and even scientists who had already earned their Ph.D.s from all over the world. In the 1980s, a special award called a Ford Foundation Fellowship allowed him to connect his team with a research group in France. He spent a whole year there. Later, with a Fulbright Fellowship, he made connections with groups in Mexico, Poland, Germany, Greece, and Russia.
Dr. Evans strongly supported bringing more minority students to UNC-Chapel Hill. He also served on important committees for groups like the American Chemical Society and the National Science Foundation. He even led the U.S. National Committee for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry.
Awards and Honors
- 1994 — Tanner Award for Teaching Excellence
- 1995 — NSF Special Creativity Award in Organophosphorus Chemistry
- 1998 — ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences
- Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education
- Howard University Outstanding Achievement Award
Personal Life
Slayton Evans married Tommie Johnson in 1967. They had two children. Dr. Evans passed away on March 24, 2001, in Chapel Hill. After his death, the Slayton A. Evans Jr. Memorial Lecture Fund and the Slayton Evans Research Award were named in his honor.
