Benjamin P. Boussert Lectureship
The Dr. Benjamin Boussert Lecture Series invites a renowned chemist to Louisiana State ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø each year. The seminar brings together family, friends, and the local chemistry community in memory of LSU Chemistry alumnus Benjamin Boussert.

Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
Research Assistant Professor
School of Medicine
Vanderbilt ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø
"Uses of Generative AI in Cancer Research and Clinical Care"
Large Language Models like ChatGPT are set to become an inseparable part of our lives. In this talk you will learn about one way AI is transforming healthcare research--through development of an AI-enhanced tool to rapidly and reliably extract cancer patient data from medical records--as well as about how to use LLMs ethically and reproducibly in research.
3:30 PM | Life Science Annex Auditorium, A101
*Reception to follow in 100 CMB
Previous Benjamin P. Boussert Lecturers
2024 - Haitao Liu (¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of Pittsburgh)
2023 - Gacoin Thierry (Ecole Polytechnique)
2022 - Bryce Sadtler (Washington ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø in St. Louis)
2019 - Shelley A. Claridge (Purdue ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø)
2018 - Robert J. Cava (Princeton ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø)
2017 - Emory Chan (Molecular Foundry)
2016 - Delia Milliron (¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of Texas at Austin)
2014 - Paul Alivisatos (¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of California)
About Benjamin Boussert
Benjamin Boussert was an LSU ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø Medalist who graduated with degrees in Chemistry
and Chemical Engineering in 1999. While at LSU, Benjamin conducted four years of research
under the tutelage of Dr. Robin McCarley. Benjamin’s interests in nanoscience and
sensing technologies led him to the ¾Å¾Å¸£ÀûÍø of California at Berkeley where he
worked toward a PhD in Physical Chemistry with Dr. Paul Alivisatos. Months before
he was to defend his dissertation, Benjamin and two friends and colleagues, Jason
Choy and Giulia Adesso, were tragically killed in an automobile accident.
Family, friends, and colleagues have established a scholarship to honor Benjamin’s memory and legacy at LSU. His parents, Anne and Christian, and his brother and sister-in-law, Joel and Kelly, have also created a substantial endowment at LSU to support the Dr. Benjamin Boussert Lecture Series for Chemistry. LSU is forever grateful for the positive impact Benjamin has had on the lives of others and for his family’s support of these memorials.