Valenta, Zdenek

Zdenek Valenta
Professor Emeritus in Chemistry
Convocation: October 17, 1993

A protégé of the renowned University of New Brunswick researcher Karel Wiesner, Dr. Valenta joined the faculty of science in 1953 upon completing his PhD.

He became, over his 40-year career, one of Canada's foremost organic chemists. Dr. Valenta's accomplishments in the field of structure elucidation and synthesis of complex natural products have won him the respect of the international scientific community and have been acclaimed, among other forms of recognition, by the Merck Sharp and Dohme Award and election to fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada.

Dr. Valenta's colleagues and students have acknowledged his gift for teaching by nominating him for UNB's Allan P. Stuart Excellence in Teaching Award, the APICS/Northern Telecom Science Teaching Award, and the Union Carbide Award for Chemical Education. In 1987, most of his former students gathered at UNB for a seminar and celebration in honour of his 60th birthday.