June 23, 2021, via Zoom Dr. Lawrence Rocks, a world-renowned chemist, energy expert, baseball scientist, and author, in conversation with Eric Ward, VP for Public Programs at the Library Hall Library. From 2019 to 2021, Dr. Rocks was honored by Topps with baseball cards three years in a row, commemorating his lifelong contributions to science, including recent research with Paul DeJong of the St. Louis Cardinals on the role of chemistry in baseball. Dr. Rocks has been featured on MSNBC and MLB Network and his lab footage has been shown on ESPN Sunday night baseball. He was also recently cited by USA Today baseball writer Bob Nightengale on the ineffectiveness of foreign substances to aid a pitchers’ control and he appeared on the popular CBS Sports Network show, Tiki & Tierney, to discuss the science of sticky substances. Professor Rocks has also developed the WeatherStationMoon concept of an unmanned weather station on the moon to accurately measure the earth’s temperature and cloud cover for climate change research. In 2021, both Topps and Upper Deck released WeatherStationMoon cards in honor of Dr. Rocks, the only scientist to be honored by both companies. On Earth Day 2021, the New York Islanders honored Professor Rocks with a commemorative hockey puck in recognition of his work to fight climate change. Dr. Rocks’ research career has spanned from analytical chemistry to sports biochemistry to novel antiviral research. His 1972 book, The Energy Crisis, published just prior to the 1973 oil crisis, was widely acclaimed by both television and print media, and was influential in the creation of the U.S. Department of Energy during the Carter Administration. He has been featured as an energy expert in the New York Times, Time Magazine, and National Review, and he has addressed the United Nations, appeared on the Today Show, To Tell The Truth, and The Mike Douglas Show. Dr. Rocks, Professor Emeritus at Long Island University, received an MS in chemistry from Purdue University and his DSc (Doctor of Science) from Technische Hochschule Vienna, where he wrote his doctoral thesis in German in the field of analytical chemistry.

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