Slayton A. Evans, Jr.

Slayton A. Evans Jr. (May 17, 1943 – March 24, 2001) was an American chemist and professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He was a leading researcher into organophosphorus chemistry. His research led to a greater understanding of the functions of organophosphate compounds and innovations in methods to produce chemical compounds for pharmaceutical drugs.

Early life and education Slayton Alvin Evans Jr. was born on May 17, 1943, in Chicago, Illinois, to Corine M. Thompson Evans and Slayton A. Evans, Sr.

Evans helped pay for his school tuition by mowing lawns and during eighth grade he was a junior assistant janitor at his elementary school. Later he worked in the high school cafeteria. In his third year of high school, he considered going into the Air Force, but was too tall for flight training. However, he took several competitive examinations and was the recipient of an academic scholarship to Tougaloo College where he also received an athletic scholarship for basketball. He enrolled at Tougaloo in 1961. After 10 years at Chapel Hill, Evans became a full professor, and in 1992 was honored with a Kenan Professor chair.

At the University of North Carolina Evans assembled a research team of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows from around the world. In the 1980s, a Ford Foundation Fellowship allowed him to create ties between his research team and a research group at the Paul Sabatier University in France, where he spent a full sabbatical year. Later, with the help of a Fulbright Fellowship, he built ties with groups in Mexico, Poland, Germany, Greece, and Russia.

Evans championed recruiting minority applicants to UNC-Chapel Hill, while on the national front, he served on committees of the American Chemical Society, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and was chair of the U.S. National Committee of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. He also served on a council that advised the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

Selected publications

Awards and recognition 1994 — Tanner Award for Teaching Excellence 1995 — NSF Special Creativity Award in Organophosphorus Chemistry 1998 — ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education Howard University Outstanding Achievement Award

Personal life Evans married Tommie Johnson in 1967. They had two children. Evans died on March 24, 2001, in Chapel Hill. The Slayton A. Evans Jr. Memorial Lecture Fund and the Slayton Evans Research Award were both named in his honor post-humously.