Memorial service planned for Yang

A memorial service will be held for Nien-Chu Yang, Professor Emeritus in Chemistry, at 1:15 p.m. Monday, April 6, in Rockefeller Memorial Chapel.

Yang, 80, a longtime Hyde Park resident, died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008.

He came to the University in 1956 and progressed through the professorial ranks to become the Gustavus F. and Ann M. Swift Distinguished Service Professor in 1992.

He retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2000.

Yang studied organic photochemistry, the reactions induced by light in organic compounds, In 1987, Yang’s discovery of a new type of chemical luminescence–chemical light emission— made headlines. This type of luminescence is responsible for the light of fireflies, predator fish and in the deep sea, and some micro-organisms.