Eugene George Rochow (October 4, 1909 – March 21, 2002) was an American inorganic chemist. Rochow worked on
organosilicon chemistry
Organosilicon compounds are organometallic compounds containing carbon–silicon bonds. Organosilicon chemistry is the corresponding science of their preparation and properties. Most organosilicon compounds are similar to the ordinary organic c ...
; in the 1940s, he described the direct process, also known as the Rochow process or Müller-Rochow process.
Born in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Maplewood, New Jersey and attended
Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to:
*Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama)
*Columbia High School (Georgia)
*Columbia High School (Florida)
*Columbia High School (Idaho)
*Columbia High School (Illinois)
*Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...
, where teachers fostered his interest in math and chemistry. He obtained both B.S. and Ph.D. degrees from
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
in 1931 and 1935 respectively. Upon completion of his Ph.D., he began working for a
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...
subsidiary. In 1948, Rochow resigned from GE due to his Quaker beliefs. He joined the faculty 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 high ...
where he remained until his retirement in 1970. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
in 1949. He is known for developing, with A. Louis Allred, the Allred-Rochow
electronegativity
Electronegativity, symbolized as , is the tendency for an atom of a given chemical element to attract shared electrons (or electron density) when forming a chemical bond. An atom's electronegativity is affected by both its atomic number and the ...
scale. In 1962, he was awarded the
Perkin Medal
The Perkin Medal is an award given annually by the Society of Chemical Industry (American Section) to a scientist residing in America for an "innovation in applied chemistry resulting in outstanding commercial development." It is considered the ...