The Noyce Professor for the spring 2001 semester was John Roberts, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, Professor Roberts is a distinguished scientist who has been recognized with many prizes and awards. He served at CIT as Chairman of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and also as Vice President, Provost and Dean of the Faculty.

Professor Roberts taught a course aimed at chemistry students, NMR Fundamentals and Applications to Organic Structures. Roberts' visit coincided with the installation of a 400 MHz Bruker NMR Spectrometer in the Chemistry Department at Grinnell College.

This instrument has quickly become an essential component of advanced courses and research in the department.

Professor Roberts gave a convocation lecture entitled: Some Useful Information about Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).