Inventor of 'The Pill' speaks at GVSU

In October 1951, Dr. Carl Djerassi successfully synthesized a steroid oral contraceptive for the first time. That discovery led to the development of the birth control pill ¿ an invention that had earthshaking consequences.

Djerassi will deliver a lecture, 'The Pill: Male or Female?' at Grand Valley State University as the third annual Arnold C. Ott Lectureship in Chemistry. The lecture is Monday, March 31 at 7 p.m. in the Grand River Room of the Kirkhof Center on Grand Valley's Allendale Campus .

Djerassi is a playwright, novelist, and emeritus professor of chemistry at Stanford University. He is one of the few American scientists to have been awarded both the National Medal of Science (for his work on 'the pill') and the National Medal of Technology (for promoting new approaches to insect control).

His recent book, This Man's Pill offers a personal narrative on the impact this invention has had on the world at large and on him personally. He credits the Pill with radically altering his academic career at Stanford University to become one of the few American chemists writing novels and plays. The book presents a forcefully revisionist account of the early history of the Pill, debunking many of the journalistic and romantic accounts of its scientific origin. Djerassi also explores why there is no Pill for men and why Japan only approved the Pill in 1999 (together with Viagra).

A reception and book signing will immediately follow the lecture in the Pere Marquette Room of the Kirkhof Center. Note: Grand Valley students attending the lecture will receive a free copy of one of Djerassi's books. For more information about Dr. Djerassi, visit www.djerassi.com

The lecture is the third in an endowed lecture series established through a donation from Dr. Arnold C. and Marion Ott. Dr. Ott is a former GVSU trustee who served on the board for 28 years and served as its chairman from 1978-84. He also holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, physics and bacteriology. He authored 55 patents while employed at Upjohn Co. and he founded the Ott Chemical Co.