Dennis Gail Peters (April 17, 1937 – April 13, 2020) was an American analytical chemist who specialized in

electrochemistry Electrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outco ...

and was named the Herman T. Briscoe Professor at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in 1975. Peters led his own research group at Indiana University in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

until his death in 2020. Peters' research focused on the electrochemical behavior of halogenated organic compounds, more recently moving to focus on transition metal catalysts in regards to the oxidation and reduction of organic species. He authored or co-authored over 210 publications and 5 analytical chemistry textbooks.

Early life and education

Dennis Peters was born on April 17, 1937, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He completed his Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

in 1958 and graduated

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

before completing his PhD in analytical chemistry at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

under James J. Lingane. After completing his PhD in 1962, Peters went to

Career

Peters served as the chemistry department's graduate student advisor from 1969 to 1971 where he recruited the department's largest incoming class. His research has focused on the mechanistic and synthetic properties of the oxidation and reduction of halogenated organic compounds and electrocatalysis in organic synthesis. Peters was still actively teaching up to the time he suffered a fall during spring break 2020 and was taken to a hospital.

Death

Peters died from hospital-acquired

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

on April 13, 2020, four days before his 83rd birthday. He contracted the virus while in a Bloomington hospital recovering from a fall. Peters' name was included in the May 2020 ''New York Times'' tribute ''

U.S. Deaths Near 100,000, An Incalculable Loss ''U.S. Deaths Near 100,000, An Incalculable Loss'' was the front-page article of ''The New York Times'' on May 24, 2020; the Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend. Its subheader read "They were not simply names on a list. They were us." I ...

'' to the 100,000 Americans who lost their lives as a direct result of the pandemic. A reporter for the ''

Indiana Daily Student The ''Indiana Daily Student'' (''IDS'') is an independent, student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, since 1867. The ''IDS'' is free and distributed throughout the campus and ci ...

'' wrote that "Peters had a roaring voice that filled lecture halls".

Awards and honors

*1990,

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

Division of Analytical Chemistry

J. Calvin Giddings John Calvin Giddings (September 26, 1930 – October 24, 1996) was a professor of chemistry specialist of chromatography and separation techniques at the University of Utah. Obituary by Marcus Myers, ''Chromatographia 43'', (11-12), 583, 1996 He ...

Award for Excellence in Teaching *2002, Electrochemical Society Henry B. Linford Award for Distinguished Teaching *2006, W. George Pinnell Award for Outstanding Service, Indiana University Bloomington *2007, Elected Fellow of the

Electrochemical Society The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership compris ...

*2012,

Division of Organic and Biological Electrochemistry, Manuel M. Baizer Award *2012, Elected Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

*2017, Elected Fellow of the

*2020,

Division of Analytical Chemistry, Roland F. Hirsch Award for Distinguished Service

Publications

Books

* * * * *

References

External links

* http://www.indiana.edu/~echem/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Dennis G. Indiana University Bloomington faculty California Institute of Technology alumni Harvard University alumni 1937 births 2020 deaths Writers from Los Angeles Analytical chemists 20th-century American chemists Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Indiana