On Jul. 8, 2009, Richard N. Zare, the Marguerite Blake Wilbur Professor in Natural Science, was named the Priestley Medalist for 2010 by the American Chemical Society.

Zare developed a laser-induced fluorescence method that is widely used in chemistry laboratories. Laser-induced fluorescence is the process of studying molecules by exciting them with a laser and then measuring the light they emit. Zare’s work has led to a better understanding of chemical reactions at the molecular level, such as solving problems in chemical analysis.