Ilie G. Murgulescu (
Cornu, 27 January 1902 – Bucharest, 28 October 1991) was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
n physical chemist and a
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. He was
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
of the
Romanian Academy
The Romanian Academy ( ro, Academia Română ) is a cultural forum founded in Bucharest, Romania, in 1866. It covers the scientific, artistic and literary domains. The academy has 181 active members who are elected for life.
According to its byl ...
(1960–1963) and
Minister of Education (1953–1956 and 1960–1963). He founded the
Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Romanian Academy where he presided until 1977. His investigations on
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, statistical mecha ...
covered a broad realm. Among main results can be cited those he got on
molten salt
Molten salt is salt which is solid at standard temperature and pressure but enters the liquid phase due to elevated temperature. Regular table salt has a melting point of 801 °C (1474°F) and a heat of fusion of 520 J/g.[< ...]
s
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 ...
. He did doctoral work on
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
thiosulfate
Thiosulfate ( IUPAC-recommended spelling; sometimes thiosulphate in British English) is an oxyanion of sulfur with the chemical formula . Thiosulfate also refers to the compounds containing this anion, which are the salts of thiosulfuric acid, ...
complex
photochemistry
Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light. Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible light (400–7 ...
under
Fritz Weigert
Fritz Weigert (18 September 1876 – 13 April 1947) was a German physical chemist. Weigert has made major contributions in the field of photochemistry. He was born in Berlin. He was the nephew of both Karl Weigert and Paul Ehrlich. He was married ...
in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
as adviser.
His son participated in manifestations of support towards the
Hungarian revolution in 1956. This event affected Murgulescu's position in the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
. After a while he was reinstated at the Ministry of Education.
He was elected honorary member of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unite ...
.
He authored a series of didactic books in 7 volumes on Physical chemistry called ''Introduction to Physical Chemistry'' printed between 1976-1984.
In 1981, Murgulescu became a founding member of the
World Cultural Council
The World Cultural Council is an international organization whose goals are to promote cultural values, goodwill and philanthropy among individuals. The organization founded in 1981 and based in Mexico, has held a yearly award ceremony since 198 ...
.
Notes
References
Magyar Nagy Lexikon (Great Hungarian Lexicon)
External links
Ilie G. Murgulescu l
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murgulescu, Ilie
1902 births
1991 deaths
Founding members of the World Cultural Council
People from Dolj County
Romanian physical chemists
Presidents of the Romanian Academy
Romanian Ministers of Education
Rectors of the University of Bucharest
Rectors of Politehnica University of Timișoara