People & Research

Albert W. Burgstahler

Emeritus Professor

Albert W. Burgstahler photo

1251 Wescoe Hall Drive
Malott Hall, Room
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045

Phone: (785) 864-4670

Fax: (785) 864-5396

Email: awburg@ku.edu


Academic Degrees

  • B.S., 1949, University of Notre Dame
  • A.M., 1950, Ph.D., 1953, Harvard University
  • Eli Lilly NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, 1952-1953, Birkbeck College, London, England
  • Temporary Instructor, 1953-1954, University of Notre Dame
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, 1954-1955, University of Wisconsin , Madison
  • Instructor, 1956-1957
  • Assistant Professor, 1957-1961; Associate Professor, 1961-1965; Professor, 1965-1998, Professor Emeritus, 1998-present, University of Kansas
  • Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1961-1964, University of Kansas

Research Interests

Throughout much of his career, Professor Burgstahler was actively engaged in research on the synthesis and chemistry of natural products. In later years he conducted studies on the chiroptical properties of chiral dienes and enones and devised a variety of undergraduate chemistry experiments and lecture demonstrations. Following his retirement in 1998, he was elected and continues to be editor of the quarterly scientific journal FLUORIDE founded in 1968 by the International Society for Fluoride Research. Since 1997 he has also been engaged in intensive research on the Shakespeare authorship problem.


Selected publications


Burgstahler, A.W. Editorial: Residual Fluoride in Food Fumigated with Sulfuryl Fluoride. Fluoride 2005, 38, 175-177.

Burgstahler, A.W. In Memoriam: Albert Schatz—Actual Discoverer of Streptomycin (1920–2005). Fluoride 2005, 38, 95-97.

Burgstahler, A.W.; Limeback, H. Editorial: Retreat of the Fluoride-Fluoridation Paradigm. Fluoride 2004, 37, 239-242.

Burgstahler, A.W. Editorial: Influence of Fluoride and Lead on Children’s IQ: U.S. Tolerance Standards in Question. Fluoride 2003, 36, 79-81.

Burgstahler, A.W. Editorial: Paradoxical Concentration Effects of Fluoride. Fluoride 2002, 35, 143-147, 230.

Burgstahler, A.W.; Bricker, C.E. Measuring the Heat of Sublimation of Dry Ice with a Polystyrofoam Cup Calorimeter. J. Chem. Educ. 1991, 68, 232-233.

Burgstahler, A.W.; Robinson, M.R. Fluoride in California Wines and Raisins. Fluoride 1997, 30, 142-146.

Burgstahler, A.W.; Jahansouz, H.; Véliz, E.A.; Takasugawa, F. Diene Chirality and Cotton Effects of Nonhomoannular Cisoid Conjugated Dienes: Circular Dichroism and Crystal Structure of a Steroidal 19-Nor-1(10),9(11)-diene Derived from Westphalen’s Diol Diacetate. Chirality 2002, 14, 180-186; 2003, 15, 206.


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