Date: 2009. 10. 8, 5:00 PM Place: Mogam Hall, Bldg 500 - Abstract - In this talk I will describe a personal recollection of work undertaken by a group of remarkable collaborators—an effort that framed the development of a new science of surfaces. This work—research providing an enabling approach to the study of organic surfaces—followed a motivation that sought to understand complex macroscopic phenomena in terms of fundamental microscopic underpinnings. Via assembly—and the development of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs)—this vision was realized and the work that began with the investigation of wetting and adhesion has evolved to become a major modern theme in materials chemistry more enerally.