Horacio Damianovich (1883-1959), Argentine Pioneer in Noble Gas Chemistry Horacio Damianovich was horn in Buenos Aireson January 11,1883. His father, Eleodoro, wasamilitary physician who participated in the war against Paraguay and attained the rank of general in the Argentine Army. Horacio was one of eight children, and like all of his brothers who later hecame prominentlawyers, physicians, and engineers, he also received a higher education. Damianovich attended secondary school a t the Colegio Nacional Central and in 1902 obtained the degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires. In 1907 he was awarded the doctorate from the same university. The title of his dissertation was "Physical Chemical and Biochemical Study of Organic Dyes and Contributions t o the Study of the Schiff Readion, Composition of Rosaniline Salts and Colloidal Solutions." His professional career began in 1902 when he was named Assistant a t the National Chemical Laboratory (Oficina Qulmica Nacional). In 1909 he was appointed full professor a t the Technical Institute (Escuela Industrial de la Nacibn) and later held similar positions a t the Escuela Normal Superior and the National University of Buenos Aires. In 1930 he moved t o Santa Fe (Argentina) where he spent some of the most fruitful years of his life as a professor, scholar, director of research, and dean a t the Universidad Nacional del Litoral. He remained in Sante Fe until 1940 when he moved back t o Rnenos Airea. where ~ ~ ~ he .lived ~ until , his death on November 26.1959. Damianovirh waq a founding member ofthe A r g ~ n t i eChemical Swirty, its past prpsident from 1914 to 1911i, and orxanizcr uf the Fmst South American Chem~cal(.'ongrts.i that took plncr in 1919. He wm a m ~ m b e dr t h e National Arndemy of Fxact, l'hys~cal,and Natural Scirncrs of Argentina and the Hoyal Spanlrh Arsdemy of S~.ienres. He had a jovial prrsonnliry and uftcn liked to makc jokep. As a ywng resrarcher, he is reported to have thrown a pipce of metallic potassium intoa pan full of water in a bakery nrnr the National C'hrmistry Lnhoratory.The bakrr, amazed at swing fire ahwe water. called in the firemen and the polirr. The laughter and drlighr of Horacio and his friends terminated in quite a n argument. Damianovich is best known for his research in the chemistry of noble gases, particularly helium. Along with his collahorators, he studied in detail the adsorption of helium on metal surfaces. Between 1920 and 1940 he published over 30 puhlications on this subject and made significant contributions t o the understanding of helides sueh as PtsHe, WHe2, PdHe, FeHe, and other noble gas-metal "compounds" (1-6). He personally presented his results hefore the French, Spanish, and Italian Academies of Science and a t scientific meetings in the United States. His research, based mainly on the idea that there was no sound theoretical reason to accept the chemical inertness of the rare gases, is generally considered as a valuable contribution t o surface chemistry and the chemistry of nohle gases. Among his other important works are studies on the physical and chemical properties of organic dyes, composition of rosaniline salts, and subjects of considerable biochemical imporbnee sueh as vitamins, enzymes, albuminn, and metabolism. On the more practical side, i t is worthy to note his treatise on liquid air and the properties of substances a t low temperature published in 1908 and his role in the establishment of the first plant for the liquefaction of air in Latin America in 1909. In 1923, along with JuliAn Romero and Besia Moreno, as a member of a commission of the Argentine Academy of Science, he published a work entitled "The Patagonian Tides,.' outlining the possible use of high and low tides near the Valdez Peninsula, Chuhut, as a source of hydroelectric energy, a matter of considerable practical importance in the economic development of Patagonia. Horacio Damianovich received many public awards in Argentina and elsewhere and was well known for his struggle for social justice. He was widely respected in the world scientific community. At Damianovich's invitation, Nernst visited Argentina in 1915 and presented papers before the Argentine Chemical Society. In 1925, it was Damianovich who officially welcomed Einstein to Buenos Aires and awarded him honorary membership in the Argentine National Academy of Science. ~~~~~~~~
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Acknowledgment The authors express their gratitude to Ing. Qco. Agustin Carpio, Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina, for his attention and consideration, Literature Cited (1) Damianovich,H., Amler Sm. Espon. Pis. Quim..26.365 (1926). Damianovieh,H.,and J. J. 'Tiillat, Compt. R e d , 188,991(1929).
(2)
Lavinel G. lonescu* a n d Rosendo A. Yunes Laboratbrio de 0uimica de ~uDerT/cies Depanamenlo ae OLmlca Unwersdaos Federa ae Santa Catarm F orranopoI#sS C Ewaz1188000
304
Journal of Chemical Education
J o s e p h A. Schufle Division of Science and Mathematics New Mexico Highlands University Las Vegas. N.M. 87701
