William E. Moore

William Earl Moore (1941 - 10 December 2020) was an American chemist. He was the first African American to graduate from Purdue University with a PhD in chemistry. Moore was a faculty member at Southern University for more than three decades.

Early life and education Moore was born in born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in 1941.

Moore attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for his undergraduate studies. He completed his bachelor's degree in chemistry there in 1963. In 1967, Moore received a PhD in physical biochemistry from Purdue University, making him the first Black person to do so in the history of the university.

His PhD thesis was titled "The Effects of Reversible Denaturation on the Population Distribution of Bovine Serum Albumin" and was submitted in August 1967. His doctoral advisor was Joseph F. Foster, and Moore also thanked Dr. Vandon E. White in his acknowledgements. White was chair of the department of chemistry at Southern University, and has been lauded for his work supporting Black students pursuing graduate studies in chemistry. Moore also began his thesis with a quotation from Bertrand Russell.

Career In the late 1960s, Moore joined the faculty of Southern University, his alma mater where he had completed his undergraduate studies. Within five years, Moore achieved the rank of full professor.

In 1989, Moore returned to Southern University as vice chancellor for academic affairs.

Personal life William Moore was married to Willa Moore, who worked at Lafayette Home Hospital while Moore was a grad student at Purdue. They had two children.

Awards and honors In 2006, the Purdue Board of Trustees established the William E. Moore Distinguished Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science and Chemistry and named Joseph S. Francisco as the first to hold this appointment. Other awards include:

Invited lecture at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France (1978) Outstanding alumni, Purdue University (2004) Distinguished alumni, College of Science, Purdue University (2010) Honoree for distinguished commitment and service, Southern University Alumni Federation (2014)