John D. Roberts
John Dombrowski Roberts (born June 8, 1918 in Los Angeles , California - † October 29, 2016 ) was an American chemist ( organic chemistry , NMR spectroscopy ).
life and work
Roberts studied at the University of California, Los Angeles with a bachelor's degree in 1941 and a doctorate in 1944. In 1945/46 he was an instructor at Harvard University and from 1946 instructor and later associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and from 1953 professor of organic Chemistry at Caltech , where he headed the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from 1963 to 1968 and was Dean of the Faculty from 1980 to 1983. From 1972 he was institute professor at Caltech and has retired there since 1988 .
He applied NMR spectroscopy to the study of organic compounds, studied the relationship between structure and reactivity, and dealt with organic compounds with small ring structures. In the laudation for the Welch Prize , the connection between quantum mechanics , molecular spectroscopy , kinetics and other areas of physical chemistry with his talent for organic synthesis is highlighted and the application to the explanation of the connection between structure and reactivity of organic molecules. He was a long-time advisor to DuPont (since 1949).
In 1952/53 and 1955 he was a Guggenheim Fellow . He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1956), whose chemistry section he headed from 1968 to 1971, a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science , the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1952) and the American Philosophical Society . He received the National Medal of Science in 1990, the Glenn T. Seaborg Medal in 1991 , the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences in 1999 and the NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society in 2009 . In 1954 he received the Pure Chemistry Award from the American Chemical Society and in 1957 the Harrison Howe Award. In 1967 he received the Roger Adams Award in Organic Chemistry, the Linus Pauling Medal in 1980 and the Priestley Medal in 1987 . In 1990 he received the Welch Award in Chemistry and in 1983 the Willard Gibbs Medal . In 1994 he received the Arthur C. Cope Award and the Chemical Pioneer Award. In 2001 he received the Nakanishi Prize. He has multiple honorary doctorates ( University of Munich 1962, Temple University , University of Notre Dame , University of Wales , Scripps Institute).
In 1990 his autobiography The right place and the right time was published . He had been married since 1942, had a daughter and three sons.
Fonts
- Collected Works. Benjamin 1970
- Introduction to the analysis of spin-spin splitting in high resolution magnetic resonance. Benjamin 1963
- Nuclear magnetic resonance applications to organic chemistry. McGraw Hill 1959
- ABCs of FT-NMR, Sausalito. University Science Books 2000
- with Marjorie C. Caserio : Basic principles of organic chemistry. Benjamin 1964
- with Caserio: A study guide to Basic principles of organic chemistry. Benjamin 1977
- with Caserio: Modern organic chemistry. Benjamin 1967
- Notes on molecular orbital calculations. Benjamin 1961
- Right place at the right time. Washington DC, American Chemical Society 1990 (autobiography)
Web links
- John D. Roberts on quantum-chemistry-history.com
- John D. ("Jack") Roberts on chemistry.msu.edu (with picture)
literature
- George M. Whitesides : John D. Roberts (1918-2016). In: Science . Volume 354, No. 6318, 2016, p. 1382, doi: 10.1126 / science.aal4869
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biographical data from American Men and Women of Science , Thomson Gale 2005
- ↑ John D. Roberts, 1918-2016
- ↑ Laudation for the Welch Prize ( memento of the original from September 30, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roberts, John D. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Roberts, John Dombrowski (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 8, 1918 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Los Angeles , California |
| DATE OF DEATH | October 29, 2016 |