Lyman Handy joined USC in 1966 after working 15 years for Chevron Research. Lyman received his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from the University of Washington. During his tenure with Chevron, he was credited with the development of classical experimental work in capillary pressure and relative permeability, and pioneering work in the field of flow in porous media. Upon leaving Chevron, he brought his expertise to USC, where he established a very active and well-funded experimental research program, which involved significant studies in miscible processes, capillary action, surface and interfacial phenomena, foam and thermal processes. Lyman significantly contributed to the growth of the Petroleum and Chemical Engineering Departments at USC. He served as Chairman of the Petroleum Engineering Department for 20 years, and for a number of years, he was also Chair of both departments. In this capacity, he was responsible for recruiting many of the current faculty in the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering programs.

Lyman also served with distinction in the Professional Society of Petroleum Engineers, in the capacity of at-large Director, as an editor of the SPE Journal, and as the Director of its Los Angeles-based section.

Throughout his career, he received many recognitions and awards, including the AIME's Mineral Industry Education Award, and the SPE's distinguished member, and distinguished faculty award. Handy was a source of inspiration to his students. Many of his former students are now serving with great distinction in various petroleum companies, research laboratories and academic institutions throughout the world.

Neal Pings served with distinction as provost at both Caltech, his alma mater, and at USC, where he held the chief academic officer position from 1981 to 1993, a period when the university achieved great gains in stature. He left USC to become president of the Association of American Universities (AAU), the Washington, D.C.-based representative of the nation’s top 60 research universities, and served there until 1998.

Pings was awarded the Presidential Medallion, USC’s highest honor, and Caltech’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Spitzer Lecture was named in honor of physicist William G. Spitzer, who was a member of the USC Viterbi School faculty from 1963-1993.

Renowned in the field of semiconductor physics, Spitzer was the founding chair of the Viterbi School’s original Materials Science Department, and known for his pioneering contributions to the understanding of free carrier absorption, plasmon-phonon coupling, local mode absorption and transport across Schottky barriers. He later served as chair of the Physics Department (1969-72), dean of Natural Sciences (1983-89), and interim provost (1993).

In 1969, Spitzer was awarded the USC Research Award. In 1982, he received the USC Raubenheimer Distinguished Faculty Award and, in 1989, USC bestowed on him its highest honor, the USC Presidential Medallion.

Spitzer’s son, Matthew Spitzer, thanked the Viterbi School and the Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science for creating the annual Spitzer Lecture as a tribute to his father.