Henry Frederick "Fritz" Schaefer III (born June 8, 1944) is a
computational
Computation is any type of arithmetic or non-arithmetic calculation that follows a well-defined model (e.g., an algorithm).
Mechanical or electronic devices (or, historically, people) that perform computations are known as ''computers''. An espe ...
and
theoretical chemist
Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface ...
. He is one of the most highly cited chemists in the world, with a Thomson Reuters H-Index of 121 as of 2020.
He is the Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of the
Center for Computational Chemistry at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
.
Before becoming professor at Georgia he was professor at
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
and in 2004, he became Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, at UC Berkeley
Schaefer is 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 ...
,
American Physical Society,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...
,
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 ...
, and an honorary fellow of the
Chemical Research Society of India
Chemical Research Society of India (CRSI) is an India based scientific society
A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, professio ...
, among others.
Schaefer is an outspoken Christian. He has described himself as sympathetic to teleological arguments, but primarily a "proponent of Jesus."
Biography
Early life and education
Schaefer was born in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, and was educated in
Syracuse, New York;
Menlo Park, California
Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south ...
; and
East Grand Rapids, Michigan
East Grand Rapids is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,694.
The city is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is surrounded by Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Township, ...
.
He was awarded a B.S. degree in
chemical physics
Chemical physics is a subdiscipline of chemistry and physics that investigates physicochemical phenomena using techniques from atomic and molecular physics and condensed matter physics; it is the branch of physics that studies chemical process ...
by the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
in 1966, where he had the opportunity to work with scientists including
George Whitesides,
John C. Slater
John Clarke Slater (December 22, 1900 – July 25, 1976) was a noted American physicist who made major contributions to the theory of the electronic structure of atoms, molecules and solids. He also made major contributions to microwave electroni ...
,
F. Albert Cotton
Frank Albert Cotton FRS (April 9, 1930 – February 20, 2007) was an American chemist. He was the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. He authored over 1600 scientific articles. C ...
,
Richard C. Lord, and
Walter R. Thorson.
He then received a
National Defense Education Act Fellowship which enabled him to earn a Ph.D. degree in chemical physics from
Stanford University in 1969. At Stanford he worked with
Frank E. Harris on ''
ab initio
''Ab initio'' ( ) is a Latin term meaning "from the beginning" and is derived from the Latin ''ab'' ("from") + ''initio'', ablative singular of ''initium'' ("beginning").
Etymology
Circa 1600, from Latin, literally "from the beginning", from ab ...
''
electronic structure
In quantum chemistry, electronic structure is the state of motion of electrons in an electrostatic field created by stationary nuclei. The term encompasses both the wave functions of the electrons and the energies associated with them. Electr ...
theory and
quantum chemistry.
For his Ph.D. thesis work, he examined the electronic structure of first-row atoms and the oxygen molecule.
He published 12 articles in journals including ''Physical Review'' and ''Physical Review Letters'' prior to defending his dissertation.
Career
Schaefer became an assistant professor of
chemistry at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in 1969, with access to Berkeley's Control Data Corporation (CDC) 6600 mainframe computer. Through collaborations with other researchers, he also gained access to resources at the University Computing Company (UCC) in Palo Alto, which had a
UNIVAC 1108
The UNIVAC 1100/2200 series is a series of compatible 36-bit computer systems, beginning with the UNIVAC 1107 in 1962, initially made by Sperry Rand. The series continues to be supported today by Unisys Corporation as the ClearPath Dorado Serie ...
. He worked at Berkeley from 1969 to 1987, with one exception. Schaefer spent 1979-1980 as the Wilfred T. Doherty Professor of Chemistry and inaugural Director of the Institute for
Theoretical Chemistry
Theoretical chemistry is the branch of chemistry which develops theoretical generalizations that are part of the theoretical arsenal of modern chemistry: for example, the concepts of chemical bonding, chemical reaction, valence, the surface o ...
at the
University of Texas, Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, before deciding to return to Berkeley. During his time at Berkeley, Schaefer published 375 papers and several books, including ''The Electronic Structure of Atoms and Molecules: A Survey of Rigorous Quantum Mechanical Results'' (1972) and ''Quantum Chemistry: The Development of Ab Initio Methods in Molecular Electronic Structure Theory'' (1984), a survey of research with commentary.
In August 1987, Schaefer moved to the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
as Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of the newly formed
Center for Computational Chemistry. With the help of an IBM 3090-200E mainframe (as well as later models) he and his research group developed various computer-based methods for advanced quantum chemistry.
Other academic appointments include Professeur d'Echange at the
University of Paris
, image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of Arms
, latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis
, motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin)
, mottoeng = Here and a ...
(1977), Gastprofessur at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochshule (
ETH
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, a ...
), Zurich (1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010), and David P. Craig Visiting professor at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...
(1999).
In 2004, he became Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, at UC Berkeley.
Schaefer became a member of the
International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
The International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science (IAQMS) is an international scientific learned society covering all applications of quantum theory to chemistry and chemical physics. It was created in Menton in 1967. The founding members we ...
(IAQMS) in 1984.
He was elected president of
WATOC (World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists) in 1996,
and held the position until 2005. He is also a Fellow of the
American Physical Society as of 1977,
of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science as of 2002,
and 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 ...
as of 2004.
As of January, 2020, Schaefer was the author of more than 1,600 peer-reviewed publications.
A majority of these appeared in the ''
Journal of Chemical Physics
''The Journal of Chemical Physics'' is a scientific journal published by the American Institute of Physics that carries research papers on chemical physics.[Journal of the American Chemical Society
The ''Journal of the American Chemical Society'' is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1879 by the American Chemical Society. The journal has absorbed two other publications in its history, the ''Journal of Analytic ...]
'', and the ''
Journal of Physical Chemistry
''The Journal of Physical Chemistry A'' is a scientific journal which reports research on the chemistry of molecules - including their dynamics, spectroscopy, kinetics, structure, bonding, and quantum chemistry. It is published weekly by the Amer ...
''.
He was the editor of ''
Molecular Physics
Molecular physics is the study of the physical properties of molecules and molecular dynamics. The field overlaps significantly with physical chemistry, chemical physics, and quantum chemistry. It is often considered as a sub-field of atomic, m ...
'' for 11 years.
He has directed 123 Ph.D. students, as well as many postdoctoral associates and visiting professors, now working at 42 academic institutions around the world.
Research
Research within the Schaefer group involves the use of computational hardware and theoretical methods to solve problems in molecular
quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistr ...
. His contributions to the field of
quantum chemistry include a paper challenging, on theoretical grounds, the geometry of triplet methylene as assigned by Nobel Prize-winning experimentalist
Gerhard Herzberg
Gerhard Heinrich Friedrich Otto Julius Herzberg, (; December 25, 1904 – March 3, 1999) was a German-Canadian pioneering physicist and physical chemist, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1971, "for his contributions to the knowledge o ...
; the development of the Z-vector method simplifying certain calculations of correlated systems; and a wide body of work undertaken in his research group on the geometries, properties, and reactions of chemical systems using highly accurate ''ab initio'' quantum chemical techniques. Many of these papers have predicted, or forced a reinterpretation of, experimental results.
Awards and honors
![Henry F](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Henry_F._Schaefer_III-Heritage-Day-2019-251_crop.jpg)
Schaefer was awarded the American Chemical Society's
ACS Award in Pure Chemistry
The American Chemical Society Award in Pure Chemistry is awarded annually by the American Chemical Society (ACS) "to recognize and encourage fundamental research in pure chemistry carried out in North America by young men and women." "Young" me ...
in 1979
"for the development of computational quantum chemistry into a reliable quantitative field of chemistry and for prolific exemplary calculations of broad chemical interest".
[ The Pure Chemistry Award is given to the outstanding chemist in America under the age of 35. In 1983, he received the Leo Hendrik Baekeland award for the most distinguished North American chemist under the age of 40. In 1992, he was awarded the ]Centenary Prize
The Centenary Prize is an award granted annually by the United Kingdom-based Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) to up to three "outstanding chemists, who are also exceptional communicators, from overseas".
The prize, established in 1947, and fir ...
of the Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...
, London, with a citation that included "the first theoretical chemist successfully to challenge the accepted conclusion of a distinguished experimental group for a polyatomic molecule, namely methylene."
In 2003, Schaefer received the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry and the Ira Remsen Award
Ira Remsen (February 10, 1846 – March 4, 1927) was an American chemist who discovered the artificial sweetener saccharin along with Constantin Fahlberg. He was the second president of Johns Hopkins University.
Early life
Ira Remsen was bor ...
of Johns Hopkins University. In 2004, a six-day conference was convened in Gyeongju, Korea on the “Theory and Applications of Computational Chemistry: A Celebration of 1000 Papers of Professor Henry F. Schaefer III.” Schaefer was honored with the $10,000 Joseph O. Hirschfelder Prize in 2005 by the University of Wisconsin's Theoretical Chemistry Institute, joining a distinguished list of some of the best-known scientists in the field.
In 2011, Schaefer received the prestigious Ide P. Trotter Prize of Texas A&M University. Previous recipients of the Trotter Prize include Nobelists Francis Crick, Charles Townes, Steven Weinberg, William Phillips, and Roald Hoffmann.
In 2012, he received a Humboldt Research Award
The Humboldt Prize, the Humboldt-Forschungspreis in German, also known as the Humboldt Research Award, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of G ...
from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (german: Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung) is a foundation established by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and funded by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education and Rese ...
in Germany, and on March 29, 2012, he received the $20,000 SURA Distinguished Scientist Award, given to the outstanding scientist in any field in the 17 Southern states of the US, for fulfilling SURA's mission of fostering excellence in scientific research.
In 2013, Schaefer received the Chemical Pioneer Award of the American Institute of Chemists
The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the United States. The institute is known for its yearly awards recognizing contributions of individuals in this fi ...
.
On March 18, 2014, Professor Schaefer received the 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 ...
Peter Debye Award
The Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry is awarded annually by the American Chemical Society "to encourage and reward outstanding research in physical chemistry". The award is named after Peter Debye and
granted without regard to age or natio ...
in Physical Chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...
.
In March 2015, Professor Schaefer was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Chemical Research Society of India. He returned to India to give his CRSI Honorary Fellow award lecture on February 6, 2016, at Panjab University in Chandigarh.
Schaefer received the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal
The American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal is the highest award of the American Institute of Chemists
The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the Uni ...
on May 8, 2019.
Religion and science
Schaefer is also an active Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
Christian educator who regularly speaks to university audiences (over 500 to date), Christian groups and the public on science/faith issues.[ An expanded fifth printing appeared in 2008] In 2003, he published ''Science and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence?'', a collection of essays and talks on the subject.[ A second edition appeared in 2016. He is a member of the Christian Faculty Forum at the University of Georgia.
]
Controversy
On January 25. 2008, Schaefer was invited to present a lecture entitled 'The Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God' at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top rank ...
, during TECHFEST, Asia's largest technology festival. This evoked a response from a group of six atheist students in the form of handbill
A flyer (or flier) is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in a public place, handed out to individuals or sent through the mail. In the 2010s, flyers range from inexpensively photocopi ...
s. Schaefer was, however, invited to return to IIT Bombay to present an Institute Lecture in February 2014. In 2016, Schaefer was again invited to present a plenary lecture at TECHFEST. His lecture on December 17, "The Life of a Scientist," was presented to a large audience without incident. On December 14, 2018, Schaefer gave another plenary lecture at TECHFEST.
There has been some controversy concerning the designation of Schaefer as a "five-time nominee for the Nobel Prize." The original source of this estimate is a December 23, 1991 cover article from ''U.S. News & World Report''.
The names of nominees and other information about the Nobel nomination process cannot be revealed for 50 years following the nomination discussions, so such a designation is speculative.
Published books
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References
External links
The Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry Group Page
Henry F. Schaefer, PhD: UGA
HENRY F. SCHAEFER III: IAQMS
Henry Schaefer, Fellow-CSC: Discovery Institute
Public Lectures by Henry F. Schaefer III
Doc/PDF
Henry F. Schaefer III: Google Scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Henry F. III
1944 births
Living people
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
21st-century American chemists
American Protestants
Christian scholars
Theoretical chemists
Discovery Institute fellows and advisors
Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni
Stanford University alumni
University of Georgia faculty
Academic staff of ETH Zurich
Intelligent design advocates
Fellows of the International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design
Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
Schrödinger Medal recipients
Computational chemists
People from Grand Rapids, Michigan
Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellows of the American Physical Society
Presidents of the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists