Kenneth Pitzer
Kenneth S. Pitzer | |
---|---|
![]() Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer | |
3rdPresident of Rice University | |
In office 1961–1968 | |
Preceded by | William Vermillion Houston |
Succeeded by | Norman Hackerman |
6thPresident of Stanford University | |
In office December 1, 1968[1]– June 25, 1970[2] | |
Preceded by | Wallace Sterling |
Succeeded by | Richard Wall Lyman |
Personal details | |
Born | Pomona, California,U.S. | January 6, 1914
Died | December 26, 1997 Berkeley, California,U.S. | (aged 83)
Children | Russell M. Pitzer |
Parent |
|
Alma mater | California Institute of Technology(BS) University of California, Berkeley(PhD) |
Awards | ACS Award in Pure Chemistry(1943) Priestley Medal(1969) National Medal of Science(1975) American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal(1976) Welch Award in Chemistry(1984) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemistry |
Institutions | |
Thesis | Theoretical calculations and experimental determinations of entropies and related thermodynamic quantities(1937) |
Doctoral advisor | Wendell Latimer |
Doctoral students | George C. Pimentel Oktay Sinanoğlu Robert Curl Raymond Sheline |
Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer(January 6, 1914 – December 26, 1997) was an Americanphysicalandtheoretical chemist,educator,and university president.[3]He was described as "one of the most influential physical chemists of his era" whose work "spanned almost all of the important fields of physical chemistry: thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, molecular structure, quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, chemical bonding, relativistic chemical effects, properties of concentrated aqueous salt solutions, kinetics, and conformational analysis."[4]
Biography
[edit]Pitzer received hisB.S.in 1935 from theCalifornia Institute of Technologyand hisPh.D.from theUniversity of California, Berkeleyin 1937.[5]Upon graduation, he was appointed to the faculty of UC Berkeley's chemistry department and was eventually elevated toprofessor.From 1951 to 1960, he served asdeanof theCollege of Chemistry.
Pitzer was the third president ofRice Universityfrom 1961 until 1968 and sixth president ofStanford Universityfrom 1969 until 1971. His tenure at Stanford was turbulent due to student protests.[6]Worn out by the confrontations, he announced his resignation in 1970 after a 19-month tenure. He returned to UC Berkeley in 1971. He retired in 1984, but continued research until his death.
Pitzer was director of research for theU.S. Atomic Energy Commissionfrom 1949 to 1951 and a member of theNational Academy of Sciences.[7]He was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1954 and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciencesin 1958.[8][9]
As a scientist, Pitzer was known for his work on thethermodynamicproperties ofmolecules.[10][11][12]While still a graduate student he discovered that hydrocarbon molecules do not rotate unhindered around their C-C bonds. There is in fact a barrier to internal rotation, an important discovery upsetting the conventional wisdom and affecting the thermodynamic properties of hydrocarbons.[4]Some of his work is summed up in thePitzer equationsdescribing the behavior of ions dissolved in water.[4]During his long career he won many awards, most notably theNational Medal of Scienceand thePriestley Medal.The Ohio Supercomputing System named their new cluster Pitzer in honour of Kenneth Pitzer.[13]
In the public hearing that led to the revocation ofRobert Oppenheimer's security clearance, Pitzer testified about his policy differences with Oppenheimer concerning the development ofthermonuclear weapons.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Pitzer's father,Russell K. Pitzer,foundedPitzer College,one of the fiveClaremont CollegesinCalifornia.His son,Russell M. Pitzeris also a notable chemist who is currently retired from the faculty atOhio State University.
See also
[edit]Books
[edit]- Rossini, Frederick D.; Pitzer, Kenneth S.; Arnett, Raymond L.; Braun, Rita M.; Pimentel, George C. (1953).Selected Values of Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of Hydrocarbons and Related Compounds: Comprising the Tables of the American Petroleum Institute Research Project 44 Extant as of December 31, 1952.Pittsburgh: Carnegie Press.
- Pitzer, Kenneth S. (1953).Quantum Chemistry.New York: Prentice-Hall.
- Pitzer, Kenneth S. (1995).Thermodynamics(third ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.ISBN0-07-050221-8.With acknowledgment toGilbert Newton LewisandMerle Randall,authors of the first edition, and toLeo Brewer,coauthor of the second edition.
References
[edit]- ^"3 Do-Overs from Stanford History".Stanford Magazine.July 1, 2016.RetrievedDecember 1,2023.
- ^"President of Stanford Resigns After 2 Years of Disturbances".The New York Times.June 26, 1970.RetrievedDecember 1,2023.
- ^Hughes, Sally Smith; Leberge, Germaine, eds. (1999)."Chemist and Administrator at UC Berkeley, Rice University, and Stanford University, and the Atomic Energy Commission, 1935-1997".Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley.
- ^abcE. Connick, Robert E. Connick (December 2000). "Kenneth Pitzer, 6 January 1914 · 26 December 1997".Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society.14(4): 479–483.JSTOR1515624.
- ^Pitzer, Kenneth S. (1937).Theoretical calculations and experimental determinations of entropies and related thermodynamic quantities(Ph.D.).University of California, Berkeley.OCLC843405035– viaProQuest.
- ^"Former Stanford president, renowned chemist Ken Pitzer, dies"Archived2019-10-15 at theWayback Machine,Stanford University, January 6, 1998
- ^National Academy of Sciences memoirArchived2010-06-29 at theWayback Machine
- ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.Retrieved2023-01-24.
- ^"Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer".American Academy of Arts & Sciences.Retrieved2023-01-24.
- ^Curl, Robert F.; Gwinn, William D. (1990). "Biography of Kenneth S. Pitzer".J. Phys. Chem.94(20): 7743–7753.doi:10.1021/j100383a001.
- ^Pitzer, Kenneth S., ed. (1993).Molecular Structure and Statistical Thermodynamics: Selected Papers of Kenneth S. Pitzer.World Scientific Series in 20th Century Chemistry. Vol. 1. Singapore: World Scientific.ISBN981-02-1439-1.
- ^Rard, Joseph A. (1999). "Memorial Tribute Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer 1914-1997".Journal of Solution Chemistry.28(4): 247–264.doi:10.1023/A:1022619709105.S2CID189864882.
- ^"Ohio Supercomputer Center - Pitzer".
- ^In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer: Transcript of Hearing Before Personnel Security Board.Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. 1954. pp.697–709.
External links
[edit]- 1914 births
- 1997 deaths
- Presidents of Rice University
- Presidents of Stanford University
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- American physical chemists
- Theoretical chemists
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
- University of California, Berkeley faculty
- National Medal of Science laureates
- California Institute of Technology alumni
- Fellows of the American Physical Society
- 20th-century American chemists
- People from Pomona, California
- Scientists from California
- 20th-century American academics
- Members of the American Philosophical Society