Harry George Drickamer
This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2013) |
Harry George Drickamer | |
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Born | Cleveland, Ohio,U.S. | November 19, 1918
Died | May 6, 2002 Urbana, Illinois,U.S. | (aged 83)
Alma mater | Indiana University University of Michigan |
Known for | condensed matterphysics |
Awards | Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize(1967) Irving Langmuir Award(1974) Peter Debye Award(1987) Elliott Cresson Medal(1988) National Medal of Science(1989) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Chemical engineering |
Institutions | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
Harry George Drickamer(November 19, 1918 – May 6, 2002), bornHarold George Weidenthal,was a pioneer experimentalist in high-pressure studies ofcondensed matter.[1]His work generally concerned understanding the electronic properties of matter.
Drickamer was born inCleveland, Ohio,to Louise Weidenthal and Harold Weidenthal. His father died when Harry was very young, and after his mother remarried, Harry's stepfather adopted him. After graduating early from public schools in East Cleveland, he played minor league professional baseball in theCleveland Indiansfarm system, then enteredVanderbilt Universityon a football scholarship. He soon transferred toIndiana Universityand then to theUniversity of Michigan,where he received a B.S. inchemical engineeringin 1941 and master's degree one year later.
In 1942 Drickamer began work at the Pan American Refinery inTexas City, Texas.After his fellow students played a prank by forging his name on a sign-up sheet for the Ph.D. qualifying exam in chemical engineering, he decided to take the 16-hour exam. After he started work in Texas, he received word that he had passed. He then combined work with study ofphysicsandquantum mechanics,and in February 1946 returned to the University of Michigan for one term to receive his Ph.D.
Drickamer joined theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,where he subsequently remained for his entire professional career. After his initial appointment as an assistant professor of chemical engineering in 1946, he was promoted to associate professor in 1949 and to full professor in 1953. In 1958 he was appointed professor of chemical engineering and physical chemistry, and in 1983 he became professor of chemical engineering, chemistry, and physics.
Honors and awards[edit]
- 1947Coburn Award,American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- 1956Ipatieff Prize,American Chemical Society
- 1962Fellow of the American Physical Society
- 1965 Member of theNational Academy of Sciences
- 1967Oliver E. Buckley Solid-State Physics Award,American Physical Society
- 1967Alpha Chi SigmaAward,American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- 1968Victor Bendix Award,American Society for Engineering Education
- 1970 Fellow of theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1972William H. Walker Award,American Institute of Chemical Engineers
- 1974Irving Langmuir Awardin Chemical Physics,American Chemical Society
- 1977P. W. Bridgman Award,International Association for the Advancement of High Pressure Science and Technology
- 1978Michelson-Morley Award,Case Western Reserve University
- 1979 Member of theNational Academy of Engineering
- 1983 Member of theAmerican Philosophical Society
- 1983Chemical Pioneer Award,American Institute of Chemists
- 1984John Scott Award,City ofPhiladelphia
- 1985 Outstanding Materials Chemistry, U.S. Department of Energy
- 1986Alexander von Humboldt Award,Federal Republic of Germany
- 1987Robert A. Welch Prize in Chemistry
- 1987Peter Debye Awardin Physical Chemistry,American Chemical Society.
- 1989 He was awarded theNational Medal of Scienceby PresidentGeorge H. W. Bushon October 18, 1989.[2]
- 1989Elliott Cresson Medal,Franklin Institute
Legacy[edit]
Drickamer died of stroke on May 6, 2002, in Urbana. In honor of his outstanding achievements and hard work, one graduate student every year at Illinois from either Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Chemistry, or Physics will be awarded the Harry G. Drickamer Research Fellowship via the Drickamer Fund.
Harry is the father of esteemed biochemistKurt Drickamer,currently a professor atImperial College London,discoverer of C-type Lectins. His other son, Lee C. Drickamer is a well-known animal behaviorist and textbook author who received the 2010 Distinguished Animal Behaviorist Award from the Animal Behavior Society. Now retired as Regents' Professor Emeritus, he spent his academic career at Williams College, Southern Illinois University, and Northern Arizona University.
References[edit]
- ^Jonas, Jiri;Slichter, Charles(October 2002)."Obituary: Harry George Drickamer".Physics Today.55(10): 71.doi:10.1063/1.1522182.
- ^National Science Foundation - The President's National Medal of Science
- 1918 births
- 2002 deaths
- American chemical engineers
- Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
- National Medal of Science laureates
- Scientists from Cleveland
- Fellows of the American Physical Society
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni
- Members of the American Philosophical Society
- Engineers from Ohio
- 20th-century American engineers
- Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter Prize winners