John Ulric Nef (chemist)
John Ulric Nef (born June 14, 1862 in Herisau as Johann Ulrich Nef , † August 13, 1915 in Carmel-by-the-Sea ) was a Swiss-American chemist. He is considered one of the founders of organic chemistry in the United States. He discovered the Nef reaction named after him .
biography
Nef followed his father to the United States with his mother and brother in 1866. He began studying chemistry at Harvard University in 1884. There he received a scholarship abroad, with which he received his doctorate under Adolf von Baeyer in 1886 . He returned to the United States in 1887 and taught at Purdue University . He moved to Clark University in Worcester, where he was appointed to succeed Arthur Michael in 1892 . After disputes at the university, however, he took over a professorship at the University of Chicago , where he taught until his death.
Nef worked in particular in the field of isonitriles , fulminates and quinones . At the end of the 19th century he predicted the existence of carbenes such as methylene .
In 1891 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences , in 1904 to the National Academy of Sciences .
Web links
- John Ulric Nef (1862-1915) A Biographical Memoir by Melville L. Wolfrom in: National Academy of Science, 1960
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nef, John Ulric |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Nef, Johann Ulrich (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss-American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 14, 1862 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Herisau |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 13, 1915 |
| Place of death | Carmel-by-the-Sea |