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Wrighton Wins MacArthur Prize theorist in organic Chemistry. Dumas is better remembered t o d a y for his m e t h o d of determining the density of gases Poor fellow — how much easier his job would have been with a copy of the Scott Specialty Gases Buying Guide 1 The work of todays analyst can be easier also For the Scott Buying Guide is more than a g r a c e l e s s l i s t i n g of s t o c k numbers, cylinder sizes and prices If your work lies in m o n i t o r i n g emissions from ambient, stationary or mobile sources, the just published edition of the Scott Specialty Gases Buying Guide can provide you with much useful informa-
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For it describes more than 170 pure gases and gas mixtures carried in stock 54 pure gases m 7 grades. 100 2-component and 16 3-component mixtures in an infinite number of concentra tions Custom mixtures9 Whatever you need — up to 38 components Your personal copy of the just-published Scott Specialty Gases Buying Guide is waiting — write lor it now New edition of Scott Specially G a s · · Buying Guide |u*l published — get your copy today!
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Mark S. Wrighton, who at the age of 33 already holds the Frederick G. Keyes Chair in chemistry at the Mas sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has been selected to receive $176,000 over five years as a fellow of the John D. and Catherine T. MacAr thur Foundation. Wrighton was one of 20 talented persons from many walks of life who won the award this year. The MacArthur awards are unique in providing funding for individuals, not research projects. The purpose of the fellowships is to free the individu als from economic pressures so they can devote themselves fully to their own research and creative pursuits. According to MacArthur Foundation president John E. Corbally, "It is our hope that this program will lead to discoveries or other contributions that might otherwise not be made. Some of the great breakthroughs of civilization have been made by the dogged explor er who couldn't possibly define in ad vance precisely where he was going. We believe in this risk." Wrighton's research interests are in transition metal catalysis, photochem istry, surface chemistry, and photoprocessee at electrodes. His principal objects are to elucidate the basic prin ciples underlying the conversion of solar energy to chemical fuels and electricity, to discern new catalysts and ways of making them, and to un derstand the chemistry at interfaces. He received the BS degree with honors in chemistry from Florida State University in 1969, and, upon graduation, won the Monsanto Chem istry Award for outstanding research. He earned his PhD in 1972, after only three years at the California Institute of Technology, where he worked under Harry B. Gray and George S. Ham mond. His doctoral dissertation was on "Photoprocesses in Metal-Contain ing Molecules," a project that earned
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Mark S. Wrighton
Wrighton the first Herbert Newby McCoy Award. Wrighton entered MIT in 1972 as an assistant professor and was subsequently appointed associate professor (1976) and professor (1977). He was appointed to the Keyes chair in 1981. The MacArthur prize comes with no strings attached. Prizewinners are free to pursue ideas that do not fit conven tional funding patterns, to work on projects long-neglected due to lack of time or support, or even just to sit and think. They may branch into new fields or completely change career di rection. Individuals cannot apply for the awards. Instead, the MacArthur Foun dation relies on nominations by some 100 anonymous "talent scouts" around the I S Final selection is made by a 13-member committee and approved by the foundation's direc tors. The foundation was created by John D. MacArthur, who amassed a fortune in the insurance business and through real estate acquisitions. Stuart A. Rorman
