John Corbett (March 23, 1926 – September 2, 2013) was an American chemist who specialized in inorganic solid-state chemistry. At Iowa State and Ames Lab, Corbett lead a research group that focused on the synthesis and characterization of two broad classes of materials, notably

Zintl phases In chemistry, a Zintl phase is a product of a reaction between a group 1 ( alkali metal) or group 2 (alkaline earth metal) and main group metal or metalloid (from groups 13, 14, 15, or 16). It is characterized by intermediate metallic/ ionic bon ...

and condensed transition metal halide clusters. Both classes of materials are important for their uses, for instance thermoelectrics, and for the theoretical advances they made possible by working to understand their complex bonding and electronic properties.

Career

Corbett received his Ph.D. in 1952 from the University of Washington. He joined the chemistry faculty of Iowa State University and the scientific staff of Ames Laboratory in 1953. He was affiliated with both institutions for his entire career. He was elected a 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 ...

. He was awarded two DOE Awards for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishments and Sustained Research in Materials Chemistry, the Humboldt Prize (1985), the 2005 Spedding Award from the Rare Earth Research Conference, the 2008 Monie A. Ferst Award from Sigma Xi, and several ACS Awards for both

Inorganic Chemistry Inorganic chemistry deals with synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This field covers chemical compounds that are not carbon-based, which are the subjects of organic chemistry. The distinction between the two disci ...

and Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1992.

References

External links

Ames Lab homepage

Iowa State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, John American chemists Iowa State University faculty University of Washington alumni 2013 deaths Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1925 births Solid state chemists Inorganic chemists