The Department of Chemistry at the University of Kentucky organizes an annual Symposium on Chemistry and Molecular Biology. This Symposium was established in honor of Anna S. Naff, a University of Kentucky graduate, through the generous support of Dr. Benton Naff of NIH. The symposium has an interdisciplinary character and is attended by students and faculty from Chemistry, Biochemistry, Biology, Pharmacy, Engineering, Agriculture and Medicine. The symposium features renowned experts from around the world, including Nobel prize-winning scientists and is attended by faculty and students from colleges and universities in Kentucky and the contiguous states.
Event details for the 51st Annual Naff Symposium can be found here.
Details of previous Naff Symposia can be found here.
Poster Competition
Following the first two Naff Symposium lectures, we host a Poster Competition.
- Location: Healthy Kentucky Research Building Atrium
- Set-Up: Participants will each have assigned poster display boards to hang posters. Simply find your name and insert the poster below it.
- Thumbtacks are provided.
- Poster dimensions should not exceed 3.5 feet wide and 3.5 feet tall.
Space will be limited to the first 30 requests. Submissions must be received by March 30, 2026.
About Anna Lea Schoultes Naff
ANNA LEA SCHOULTIES was born on a small farm in Northern Kentucky on Nov. 29, 1920. Her early education and that of a younger brother began at Dale Grade School and continued through Cold Spring High, where her favorite subject was mathematics. She was the salutatorian for her high school class.
After finishing high school, Anna worked during the summers and studied at Eastern Kentucky University for two years. She worked at Williamson Heater in Cincinnati for a year before transferring to the University of Kentucky’s Department of Home Economics. Her graduation in 1944 was with distinction.
Receipt of a Haggin Fellowship enabled Anna to take up undergraduate and graduate work in chemistry. She received a Master of Science in 1946, and her thesis was published in 1947.
Anna married Benton Naff in December 1946 in Portland, Oregon. She taught chemistry at the University of Kentucky in 1946-47 and at Oregon State University in 1947-50.
While her husband was at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Anna attended the University of Michigan Ann Arbor and earned a Master of Arts Degree in Library Science. At that time (1953), she began research with the Owens Illinois Glass Co. exploring the properties of epoxy resins and silicones. Her investigations resulted in an important practical contribution, -- the invention of an organic ink for use on glass; patent issued 1958.
The family moved from Ohio in 1955. Anna continued research but in an academic environment. She assisted her husband in the acquisition of grants and produced a number of chemical research publications (1955-63).
From the fall of 1964 to the end of the summer of 1965 when her husband was on a sabbatical, Anna served as a cataloger in the Main Library at Brown University. A year later she continued library work, first at the National Bureau of Standards and then at the National Institutes of Health. Her work in acquisition and cataloging areas provided significant professional advancement, and she continued to work at NIH until near the end of her career. Anna died Sept. 21, 1973.