Aug. 3, 2007 -- Lester Andrews, professor of chemistry, was presented the George Pimentel Award for lifetime contributions to the spectroscopy of matrix isolated species July 19 at the Gordon Research Conference on the Physics and Chemistry of Matrix Isolated Species at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. 

The matrix isolation technique was developed in the Pimentel laboratories at Berkeley in the early 1950's to isolate reactive molecular species in frozen solid inert gases at very low temperatures and thus preserve them for investigation through their characteristic absorption of light (including ultraviolet, visible, and infrared). 

Andrews earned a Ph.D. from Berkeley in 1966 working with Pimentel and then joined U.Va. faculty as a member of the Department of Chemistry and theCenter for Advanced Studies in the Sciences.  He developed an active research program to produce novel reactive molecules using a variety of physical and chemical techniques for investigation in solid argon, neon, and hydrogen using infrared spectroscopy. 

Andrews has produced over 700 research publications throughout his career.  His prolific work in the field has also been recognized with the Coblentz Award in 1978 and the Ellis R. Lippincott Award in 2001.