Gentile Lectureship 2009

Dr. A. Paul Schaap

October 9, 2009

Dr. A. Paul Schaap graduated from Hope College in 1967 with a major in chemistry and received a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard University in 1970. He joined the Chemistry faculty at Wayne State University in that year and attained the rank of professor in 1979. Dr. Schaap served as a visiting professor in 1975 at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil and in 1978 at the University of Sussex, England. In 1980-81 he served as a liaison scientist with the United States Office of Naval Research in London, England. At Wayne State Dr. Schaap received an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, the Gershenson Distinguished Faculty Fellowship, the Sigma Xi Faculty Research Award and the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was elected to the Academy of Scholars and served as its president from 1992-1994.

Dr. Schaap’s research at Wayne State focused on the study of dioxetanes (high-energy chemical compounds which can be triggered to generate chemiluminescence or light). He directed the study of eighteen Ph.D. students and published over 100 papers in refereed research journals. While continuing his teaching and research efforts at Wayne State, Dr. Schaap formed Lumigen, Inc. in 1987 to commercialize the dioxetanes which had been developed in his research laboratory. Lumigen began marketing its products in 1989. The dioxetanes are now distributed worldwide by major corporations because of their sensitivity, versatility, and stability as chemiluminescent detection reagents in life science research and medical diagnostics. In 2000 Dr. Schaap retired from his position as chemistry professor to become full-time president of Lumigen. The Southfield, Michigan company was acquired by Beckman Coulter, Inc., a major immunodiagnostic company, in 2006 and Dr. Schaap retired from Lumigen in 2007. He remains, however, very active serving on several boards including the Board of Directors of the Wayne State University Foundation, the Board of Directors of TechTown in Detroit, and the Board of Trustees at Hope.

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