On Dec. 10, 2010, at the age of 79, Richard F. Heck, the Willis F. Harrington Professor Emeritus at UD, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "palladium cross couplings in organic synthesis" alongside Ei-ichi Negishi from Purdue and Akira Suzuki from Hokkaido University. Heck's path to chemistry was through the front yard. His parents put the teenage Heck in charge of landscaping the family's new home on a barren lot in California, which spurred his interest in plant fertilizers — and chemistry. Today, the "Heck Reaction" is essential to the production of pharmaceuticals, not to mention sunscreen and the screens of next-generation cell phones and TVs. Heck was honored on May 26, 2011, with a major symposium and the proclamation of "Richard Heck Day" on campus. He retired from UD in 1989 and today enjoys growing orchids at his home in the Philippines.