Michael Kasha (December 6, 1920 – June 12, 2013) was an American

physical chemist 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 me ...

and molecular spectroscopist who was one of the original founders of the Institute of Molecular Biophysics at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Education and early work

Born in

Elizabeth, NJ Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...

to a family of Ukrainian immigrants, Kasha studied chemical engineering at night at the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

for two years while working full-time during the days at the Merck & Co. research facility in New Jersey. He then received a full scholarship to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he completed a bachelor's degree in chemistry. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from

University of California at 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 univ ...

in 1945, working with renowned physical chemist G.N. Lewis. Following postdoctoral work with

Robert Mulliken Robert Sanderson Mulliken Note Longuet-Higgins' amusing title for reference B238 1965 on page 354 of this Biographical Memoir. The title should be "Selected papers of Robert S Mulliken." (June 7, 1896 – October 31, 1986) was an American ph ...

, he joined the Chemistry department at Florida State University as a faculty member in 1951.

Awards and honors

Kasha was a Distinguished University Research Professor at Florida State University. He was elected member to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1971, the first Floridian to be so honored. He was inducted into the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States of America, United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bow ...

(in 1963), as well as 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 wer ...

Important contributions

The research in his molecular spectroscopy laboratory focused on the discovery and elucidation of

excitation Excitation, excite, exciting, or excitement may refer to: * Excitation (magnetic), provided with an electrical generator or alternator * Excite Ballpark, located in San Jose, California * Excite (web portal), web portal owned by IAC * Electron exc ...

mechanisms, with particular application to photochemical and biophysical problems. His most important achievements include identifying triplet states as source of

phosphorescence Phosphorescence is a type of photoluminescence related to fluorescence. When exposed to light (radiation) of a shorter wavelength, a phosphorescent substance will glow, absorbing the light and reemitting it at a longer wavelength. Unlike fluo ...

emission, formulating the Kasha rule on

fluorescence Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

, and his work on singlet molecular

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

. Kasha is also known for his interest in improving the sound quality and durability of the acoustic guitar and the classic string instruments. A 30-year collaboration with

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers o ...

Richard Schneider led to a series of innovative changes to the traditional classical guitar. His guitar design was patented Kasha Guitar Patent
/ref> and is known as the "Kasha guitar".

Literature

R. Hochstrasser, J. Saltiel. Research Career of Michael Kasha. J. Phys. Chem. A, 2003, 107 (18), pp 3161–3162

Michael Kasha - Editorial, Biographical Sketch, Summary of Research Contributions, Research Associates, and Publications list J . Phys. Chem., 1991, 95 (25), pp 10215–10220

References

External links

Michael Kasha Lecture Video
Lecture provided by the Vega Science Trust.
Memorial website to Michael Kasha
from the Institute of Molecular Biophysics at Florida State University
The Kasha Guitar

2004 Video Interview “In Conversation with Michael Kasha”
: Nobel Laureate Sir Harry Kroto interviews Dr. Michael Kasha about his life and career {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasha, Michael 1920 births 2013 deaths Florida State University faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American biochemists Members of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science American physical chemists Spectroscopists American people of Ukrainian descent People from Elizabeth, New Jersey Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Michigan alumni