AWARDS
ACS 1988 Award Winners Following are vignettes of the fourth nine recipients of awards administered by ACS. They will receive their awards during the 195th ACS National Meeting and 3rd Chemical Congress of North America in Toronto, with the exception of the Cope Medalist and the Cope Scholars, who will receive their awards at the 196th ACS National Meeting in Los Angeles during the Cope Symposium. The awards in Toronto will be presented at a banquet on Wednesday, June 8,1988. Vignettes of the remaining awardees will appear in the Nov. 23 issue of C&EN.
Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry sponsored by Du Pont Co. RUDOLPH A. MARCUS of California Institute of Technology is, according to one professional colleague, "the most influential theoretician working in the field of reaction dynamics. His work has had a profound impact on experimentalists and theoreticians alike. In the area of unimolecular reaction theory and chemical dynamics he is the giant of his time." Marcus' contributions to theoretical chemistry and the understanding of complex chemical reactions have primarily been in two areas: creation and extension of the theory of chemical reactions that now goes under the name of Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory, and development of a view of electron transfer now referred to as Marcus theory. According to John J. Hopfield of Caltech, Marcus' contributions in these areas have been "simply overwhelming. In both of these areas, Marcus has taken a view designed to simplify the description to a point where . . . reaction rates and reaction products [can be related] to measurable experimental quantities and to simple concepts capable of direct evaluation."
The chemical reaction rate theories that Marcus has devised are used in almost every area of chemistry. Reactions covered by Marcus theory include bimolecular and intramolecular electron transfers in solution, in biological membranes, and at electrodes. Those covered by RRKM theory include unimolecular dissociations or isomerizations of molecules in the gas phase. Marcus has also contributed to the theory of proton, atom, and group transfers between or within reactants. In addition, he formulated "semiclassical" reaction rate theories that bridge the gap between classical and quantum mechanical descriptions of molecular motion, both for isolated molecules and molecules undergoing collisions. Other accomplishments include the design of natural collision coordinate systems for chemical reactions and studies of tunneling in reactions, electrostatic properties of polyelectrolytes, polar solvent effects on charge transfer spectra, dynamical solvent effects on electron transfer reactions, and spectral analysis of classical trajectories. Marcus, w h o earned B.S. and Ph.D. degrees at McGill University and honorary doctorates from the University of Chicago, Polytechnic University, and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, is currently Arthur Amos Noyes Professor of Chemistry at Caltech. He is a foreign member of the Royal Society of London, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Other major awards he has received include the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Chandler Medal (Columbia University), and the ACS Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics. The July 31, 1986, issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry, the Rudolph A. Marcus Commemorative Issue, honored his many research achievements.
E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry sponsored by Exxon Research & Engineering Co. JULE A. RABO, senior corporate research fellow at Union Carbide, was born in Budapest, Hungary. He received a B.S. in chemical engineering in 1946 and a D.Sc. in 1948 from Polytechnic University, Budapest. He taught chemistry at the university until 1956. Rabo then joined Carbide's Linde division in 1957 to head catalysis research with zeolites, and in 1961 organized catalysis research at Carbide's corporate research department. He now directs catalysis R&D at Carbide's Tarrytown, N.Y., technical center. In 1957, Rabo discovered that multivalent cations impart strong-acid character to Carbide's Y and other zeolites. He also found that the multivalent cation and H + forms of Y zeolite catalyze hydrocarbon reactions such as cracking and isomerization with activities and selectivities far superior to any known oxide-type acid catalyst. Discovery of the strong-acid forms of the Y zeolite was a precursor to the commercial development of Y-zeolitebased applications in catalytic cracking and in hydrocracking during the early sixties. In turn, this brought about large-scale industrial participation and great economic benefits in petroleum refining. Rabo's early discoveries also formed the basis of Carbide's molecular sieve catalyst business, p r o d u c i n g petroleumrefining catalysts for refinery applications. Rabo and coworkers found new redox phenomena in Y zeolite, such as the subvalent states for nickel (Ni + ) and for alkali metals (Na 4 3+ , Na 6 5+ ). These were interpreted on the basis that Y zeolite is a strong electrolyte. Rabo proposed a generNovember 16, 1987 C&EN
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Awards al concept linking the strong electrolyte character with the polarization and the resultant high concentration of hydrocarbon reactants in the zeolite crystal. These phenomena result in the acceleration of bimolecular reaction steps and they help explain the beneficial characteristics of Y zeolite in the cracking and hydrocracking processes. In other fields of catalysis Rabo and coworkers demonstrated the facile disproportionation of carbon monoxide to carbon and carbon dioxide over cobalt, nickel, and ruthenium metals. The high reactivity of the carbon formed led Rabo in 1978 to the conclusion that carbon monoxide dissociation is the primary reaction step in Fischer Tropsch synthesis. In the course of these studies, Rabo and a coworker discovered that palladium and platinum catalyze the synthesis of methanol with high activity and selectivity. For his research in hydrocarbon catalysis Rabo received the Hungarian National Kossuth Prize in 1953. He was the first recipient of the New York Catalyst Society's Award for Excellence in Catalysis in 1982. In 1986 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Polytechnic University of Budapest.
Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry sponsored by SmithKline Beckman Corp. A look at ROLAND K. ROBINS' career attests to the wide diversity of his research interests and their impact on the field of medicinal chemistry and to his leadership in the successful application of the novel chemistry of nucleosides and nucleotides to major medical problems. Robins, who is currently a senior vice president of ICN Pharmaceuticals and director of molecular research at Nucleic Acid Research Institute, has been actively engaged in the chemistry, biochemistry, synthesis, and enzymology of pyrimidines, purines, condensed pyrimidine systems, varied types of nitrogen heterocycles, and nucleosides and nucleotides, especially as they pertain to the inhibition of specific nucleic acid enzymes. These stud72
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ies have led to the development of several useful pharmaceuticals including allopurinol, which is currently the drug of choice for treatment of gouty arthritis; ribavirin, a broad spectrum antiviral for treatment of respiratory RNA viruses; and tiazofurin, selenazofurin, 3-deazaguanine, and 3-deazauridine, which are now in clinical trials. His experience in drug development is considerable. He has brought a modern rational approach to new drug synthesis, based on principles of biochemistry and molecular biology. His current interest is in the chemotherapy of viral infections and viral-induced tumors using the design and synthesis of new nucleosides and nucleotides with the potential to suppress viral-induced oncogene expression. Robins and colleague Morris J. Robins were responsible for the first synthesis of 2,3-dideoxyadenosine in 1964. This nucleoside, developed in research sponsored by Bristol Laboratories, was selected recently by the National Institutes of Health for new clinical trials, scheduled to begin this fall, to evaluate its efficacy in treating acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Robins received his B.A. in chemistry from Brigham Young University in 1948 and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Oregon State University in 1952. He has taught at New Mexico Highlands University (1953-57), Arizona State University (1957-63), the University of Utah (1964-69), and Brigham Young University (1976-85), and is currently adjunct professor of chemistry at Brigham Young University. Robins has more than 480 scientific papers to his credit as author
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or coauthor, and is listed as inventor or coinventor on 36 patents dealing with the synthesis and biological activity of various nitrogen heterocycles, and related nucleosides and nucleotides. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Cyclic Nucleotide and Protein Phosphorylation, Current Abstracts of Chemistry and Index Chemicus, Nucleic Acids Research, and Nucleosides and Nucleotides, and is an assistant editor of the Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry. Robins has served as scientific consultant to a number of companies and organizations, such as Merck, Warner-Lambert/Parke Davis, USV Pharmaceuticals, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society.
Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management sponsored by Dow Chemical Co. Of this year's winner a colleague says, "When we are talking about WILLIAM P. SLICHTER, we are talking about a man in the top one tenth of 1% of R&D managers in the continental U.S." In fact, major technological achievements within AT&T Bell Laboratories rest firmly on basic research that was initiated and brought to fruition under Slichter's direction. During a career that spans more than 35 years, which has seen the telecommunications industry evolve from dependence on electromechanical hardware to an era using modern solid state technology, he has provided AT&T Bell Labs with both
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broad technical guidance and the necessary management support for innovative programs. These programs cover an extraordinary range of topics in chemistry, from electronic materials to polymers, from theoretical chemistry to optical fibers, from chemical engineering to electrochemistry. Slichter was a pioneer in the use of nuclear magnetic resonance for the characterization of polymers. In his research he used NMR to study molecular motions in a variety of homopolymers and copolymers. As recognition of his work he was awarded the American Physical Society Prize in High Polymer Physics in 1970. Slichter's managerial and leadership skills extend beyond his work at AT&T Bell Labs. He is currently chairman of the National Research Council Board on Assessment of the National Bureau of Standards Programs, and has served as chairman of the NRC Committee on Scientific & Technological Aspects of Materials Processing in Space. Slichter attended Harvard University where he received his A.B. in chemistry in 1947 and his Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1950. He joined the technical staff of Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1950, was named head of the chemical physics research department in 1958, chemical director in 1967, and executive director of the research-materials science and engineering division in 1973. Slichter is a member of ACS, the National Academy of Engineering, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Electrochemical Society, American Physical Society, and American Association for the Advance-
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ment of Science. He was Charles Hurd Lecturer in the department of chemistry at Northwestern University in 1976.
ACS Award for Creative Invention sponsored by Corporation Associates The research accomplishments of SAMUEL SMITH, corporate scientist at 3M, span a variety of useful and important areas, including soil resistance treatments and the preparation of novel polymers by the use of unusual methods. The award w i n n e r ' s work on fluorine-containing polymers was instrumental in the commercialization of the first oil, water, and soil repellent treatments for fabrics and carpets, as well as a novel finish for durable-press fabrics that promotes soil release on laundering. This technology, based on long-chain perfluoroalkyl acrylate and methacrylate polymers, has been used for some years now by 3M (Scotchgard fabric protectors) and many other firms worldwide as the best available technology for stain resistance and soil release in textiles. Smith also was coinventor of a method for preparing the first living polymer ever made via a cationic mechanism. This polymer, formed by the ring-opening polymerization of tetrahydrofuran, is characterized by its ability to grow at both ends via the formation of highly reactive, nonterminating oxonium triflate end groups. This work, in turn, led to the commercial development of novel curatives that impart considerable toughness to epoxy structural adhesives.
In more recent studies, Smith and his coworkers found that ris-1,4-polybutadiene can be completely epoxidated under appropriate reaction conditions. Further, the use of either a good nucleophilic or electrophilic catalyst initiates a chain reaction in which the three-membered epoxide rings expand to five-membered tetrahydrofuran rings. These new polymers have special merit in their ability to bind to metals and metal ions because of their unusual configuration. Smith received a bachelor's degree in chemistry from City College of New York in 1948 and a master's in organic chemistry from the University of Michigan in 1949. He joined the Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wis., in 1949 as a chemist. He moved to 3M in 1951. The award winner is inventor or coinventor on 29 issued U.S. patents. He was elected to the Carlton Society (honorary 3M society that recognizes significant scientific achievement) in 1969 and received the Henry E. Millson Award for Invention (American Association of Textile Chemists & Colorists) in 1980.
James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry sponsored by the ACS Northeastern Section "A universally acclaimed pioneer and leader in the art and practice of physical organic chemistry. His intellectual and experimental contributions have been a major factor in providing the bedrock upon which the field of mechanistic organic photochemistry has been built." This is how one associate sums up the accomplishments of NICHOLAS J. TURRO, William P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University. Turro's productive career was initiated at California Institute of Technology, where he received his Ph.D. in 1963. It was in the 1960s when organic photochemistry emerged as an independent science. Turro spent 1963-64 in postdoctoral research at Harvard University working on November 16, 1987 C&EN
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Awards cycloaddition reactions and authoring "Molecular Photochemistry," the first standard textbook dealing with organic photochemistry. He moved to Columbia University in 1964 as instructor of chemistry. The award winner's research at Columbia during the 1960s involved the first successful systematic investigation of the syntheses and reactions of cyclopropanes. His work showed that this very reactive small ring system is accessible to preparation, isolation, and characterization. During the 1970s Turro and his coworkers contributed significantly to the understanding of organic chemiluminescent reactions. His studies of the thermolysis of 1,2dioxetanes and the theoretical explanation of the high yield of triplet products in these themolyses are "classics in the field," says one admiring colleague. He also focused his research on the use of microheterogeneous e n v i r o n m e n t s in aqueous media to serve as microscopic reactors for carrying out organic photoreactions. Turro's group was among the first to use an array of time-resolved laser spectroscopic methods to generate and to characterize short-lived organic intermediates such as carbenes, biradicals, ylides, and radical pairs. More recently he has turned his attention to an area of organic chemistry of huge potential but of little systematic information at the molecular level: organic reactions in porous solids. Turro has more than 400 papers published or in press. He has received numerous awards, including the ACS National Award in Pure Chemistry (1974), the Harrison Howe Award of the ACS Rochester Section (1986), and the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1987).
Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Essential Oils & Related Products sponsored by Fritzsche Dodge & Olcott inc. PAUL A. WENDER of Stanford University "belongs to a select group of leaders of modern synthetic organic chemistry," writes a colleague, 74
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"a field that is now exploding with an extraordinary level of original contributions by numerous young investigators." His research has culminated in significant contributions to the field of natural product synthesis in general and terpenoid synthesis in particular. Wende/s development of synthetic reactions, methods, and strategies for the preparation of complex molecules of medicinal or structural interest has resulted in new synthetic approaches involving more than 30 structural classes. His studies of the mechanism and stereoselectivity of organic reactions have emphasized photochemical, organometallic, and pericyclic processes. A particularly significant research achievement was Wender's development of a versatile approach to the synthesis of complex sesquiterpenes and related substances involving the photochemical addition of arènes to olefins, referred to as the arene-olefin cycloaddition reaction. This research has involved initiatives in numerous synthetic directions, beginning with an original synthesis of the sesquiterpene cedrene in 1981. This was followed by the development of synthetic routes to isocomene, hirsutene, m o d h e p h e n e , isoiridomyrmecin, coriolin, silphinene, silphiperfolene, and others. According to a professional colleague, transformation of these arene olefin photoadducts was "a major accomplishment: It required a very high and most unusual level of imagination to be able to perceive, in the complex structure originally formed by the simple photoaddition step, the manifold systems that were, so to speak, embedded in it."
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Wender has also conducted important studies on molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis. This work, which involved the identification and rational design of molecules that activate enzymes of critical importance in tumor promotion, included syntheses, research on the mode of action of the most potent tumor promoters, and the development of computer models. Wender earned a B.S. at Wilkes College (1969) and a Ph.D. at Yale University (1973), after which he did two years of postdoctoral work at Columbia University. He taught first at Harvard University, then at Stanford University, where he is currently professor of chemistry. Other honors he has received include the Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, an A. P. Sloan Foundation fellowship, and the Farley Distinguished Alumni Award (Wilkes College). He has coauthored more than 50 publications in organic, medicinal, organometallic, and biochemistry.
Henry H. Storch Award in Fuel Chemistry sponsored by Exxon Research & Engineering Co. RANDALL E. WINANS of Argonne National Laboratory is one of the leading authorities on relationships between coal structure and reactivity. He has sought to determine these relationships via two contrasting approaches: characterization studies, in which complex coal macromole-, cules are broken down into simpler, more recognizable structures, and artificial coalification studies,
in which coal-like structures are synthesized from lignin and other materials. Coals consist largely of complex and insoluble macromolecules of varied structures. The elucidation of these structures to facilitate the development of improved methods for the conversion of coal into usable fuels and chemicals has been the major focus of Winans' research. Very few techniques provide direct structural information on intact coal samples. Therefore, coal chemists have frequently used degradation techniques to break down the matrix into components that can be determined analytically. However, commonly used pyrolytic and oxidative degradation techniques result in secondary reactions or extensive degradation of the basic structural units contained in coal. Winans and coworkers therefore developed a mild oxidation procedure involving the refluxing of coal with pyridine and iodine, followed by oxidation with alkaline silver oxide. The procedure forms a soluble material with little or no alteration of chemical structure. Studies based on this technique have led to a new theory on the aromatic character of coals. Previously, it had been thought that polycyclic aromatics dominate coal structure. However, in lower-rank coals with less than 80% carbon content, results of Winans 7 mild oxidation procedure suggest that single-ring aromatics are the major structural unit. In addition to his analytical work, Winans, in association with Ryoichi Hayatsu of Argonne, has succeeded in preparing coal-like structures from biological materials in a geologically realistic environment. One of Winans' colleagues notes that this work necessitated a rethinking of then-current theories on the origin of coals. Winans received a B.S. in chemistry from Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich., and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physical organic chemistry from Cornell University. Following a postdoctoral app o i n t m e n t at A r g o n n e , Winans signed on as a full-time employee of the laboratory, where he is currently group leader of coal chemistry.
ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry sponsored by Monsanto Co. MARK S. WRIGHTON of Massachusetts Institute of Technology receives this year's award in recognition of wide-ranging research contributions to the field of inorganic chemistry. A colleague at MIT describes Wrighton as ranking "with the very best in this country in terms of intelligence, scientific productivity, and, most especially, creativity. In his first decade at MIT, he accomplished research that most would be proud to have done in an entire career." A pioneer in the area of surface functionalization of electrodes, Wrighton has been responsible for fundamental advances in corrosion suppression, electrocatalysis at semiconductor electrodes, the electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide from dioxygen reduction, and the fashioning of innovative microelectrochemical devices. Wrighton has employed photochemistry as a tool for the generation and characterization of reactive organometallic species, such as photogenerated metal alkyl intermediates formed by hydride elimination. Catalysis has been another focus of activity for Wrighton's group. A recent contribution in this area involved the use of palladiumbased catalysts to generate C-H bonds, at reasonable rates and under mild conditions, from the reaction of hydrogen and carbon dioxide. His work in chemically responsive microelectrochemistry has included surface functionalization of gold microelectrode arrays to create devices with transistor properties. Wrighton's group also developed a microelectrode device that was sensitive to changes in pH and to aqueous hydrogen and oxygen concentration levels. Wrighton earned a B.S. in chemistry with honors at Florida State University and a Ph.D. in chemistry at California Institute of Technology in three years under the direction of George S. Hammond and Harry B. Gray. Upon graduation in 1972, he joined the faculty of MIT, where he is now Frederick G. Keyes Professor of Chemistry.
Other awards he has received include the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1981) and a prestigious MacArthur Prize fellowship (1983-88). In addition to having had more than 200 research papers published, he coauthored the book "Organometallic Photochemistry," edited two volumes of ACS's Advances in Chemistry Series, and served as consulting editor for the text "General Chemistry" by Darrell D. Ebbing. A colleague notes that the research a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s of W r i g h t o n ' s group "reveal a style characteristic of the best traditions of chemical science. Basic concepts are studied in a context that affords a potential for practical utility. The field of inorganic chemistry has been expanded and carried into electronics and materials science. Creativity is encountered at every turn." D
Special recognition t o . . . ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry winners of the full-year graduate fellowships for 1987-88 and their sponsors are: Gregory W. Nelson, Emory University (Procter & Gamble); Robert H. Rohrbaugh, Pennsylvania State University (Du Pont); and Evan Williams, Cornell University (Perkin-Elmer). The four winners of the summer fellowships sponsored by the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh are: Jennifer S. Brodbelt, Purdue University; Michael E. Collison, University of Michigan; Robert T. Kennedy, University of North Carolina; and Curtis A. Monnig, Indiana University. Recipient of a fifth summer award, sponsored by Dow Chemical, is Kevin McKenna, University of Florida. ACS Division of Organic Chemistry graduate fellowship winners for 1987-88 and their sponsors are: Steven V. Barancyk, Northwestern University (Eastman Kodak); William E. Bauta, University of Chicago (Monsanto); Melissa S. Egbertson, Yale University (Pfizer); Susan T. Graul, Purdue University (Rohm & Haas); John H. Griffin, California Institute of Technology (Merck Sharp & Dohme); Philip D. Hampton, Stanford University (Procter & Gamble); Alan D. Palkowitz, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Eli Lilly); Roger B. Ruggeri, University of California, Berkeley (Smith Kline & French Laboratories); and Theodore L. Underliner, University of Wisconsin (Dow Chemical). • November 16, 1987 C&EN
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