Norman Hackerman (March 2, 1912 – June 16, 2007) was an American
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
,
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
, and
academic administrator
Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...
who served as the
18th President of the
University of Texas at 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 ...
(1967–1970) and later as the 4th President of
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
(1970–1985). He was an internationally known expert in metal
corrosion
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engine ...
.
Biography
Born in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, he was the only son of Jacob Hackerman and Anna Raffel, immigrants from the Baltic regions of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
that later became
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
and
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
, respectively.
Hackerman earned his bachelor's degree in 1932 and his doctor's degree in chemistry in 1935 from
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
.
He taught at Johns Hopkins,
Loyola College in Baltimore and the
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...
in
Blacksburg, Virginia
Blacksburg is an incorporated town in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 44,826 at the 2020 census. Blacksburg, as well as the surrounding county, is dominated economically and demographically by the presence of V ...
, before working on the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
in World War II.
He joined the University of Texas in 1945 as an assistant professor of chemistry, became an associate professor in 1946, a full professor in 1950, a department chair in 1952, dean of research in 1960, vice president and provost in 1961, and vice chancellor for academic affairs for the
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System (UT System) is an American government entity of the state of Texas that includes 13 higher educational institutions throughout the state including eight universities and five independent health institutions. The UT& ...
in 1963. Hackerman left the University of Texas in 1970 for Rice, where he retired 15 years later. He was named professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Texas in 1985 and taught classes until the end of his life.
He was a member of 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 ...
, the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, and 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, and ...
. Among his many honors are the
Olin Palladium Award The Olin Palladium Award (formerly the Palladium Medal Award) was established by The Electrochemical Society (ECS) in 1950 and is presented every 2 years to recognize outstanding contributions to the fundamental understanding of all types of electro ...
of the
Electrochemical Society
The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership compris ...
, the
Gold Medal of the American Institute of Chemists (1978), the
Charles Lathrop Parsons Award
The Charles Lathrop Parsons Award is usually a biennial award that recognizes outstanding public service by a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Recipients are chosen by the American Chemical Society Board of Directors, from a list of ...
, the
Vannevar Bush Award
The National Science Board established the Vannevar Bush Award ( ) in 1980 to honor Vannevar Bush's unique contributions to public service. The annual award recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technolog ...
and the
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
. He was awarded the
Acheson Award by the
Electrochemical Society
The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership compris ...
in 1984.
Hackerman served on advisory committees and boards of several technical societies and government agencies, including the
National Science Board
The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...
, the Texas Governor's Task Force on Higher Education and the Scientific Advisory Board of the
Welch Foundation. He also served as editor of the ''
Journal of the Electrochemical Society'' and as president of the
Electrochemical Society
The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership compris ...
.
Family
Hackerman's wife of 61 years, Gene Coulbourn, died in 2002; they had three daughters and one son.
Legacy
In 1982
The Electrochemical Society
The Electrochemical Society is a learned society (professional association) based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of electrochemistry and solid-state science and related technology. The Society membership compri ...
created th
Norman Hackerman Young Author Awardto honor the best paper published in the
Journal of the Electrochemical Society for a topic in the field of electrochemical science and technology by a young author or authors. In 2000 the Welch Foundation created the
Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research to recognize the work of young researchers in
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The Rice Board of Trustees established the Norman Hackerman Fellowship in Chemistry in honor of Hackerman's 90th birthday in 2002. In 2008, the original Experimental Science Building at the University of Texas at Austin campus was demolished and rebuilt as the Norman Hackerman Experimental Science Building in his name and honor. The building was completed in late 2010, with the opening and dedication ceremony on March 2, 2011, which was both Hackerman's 99th Birthday and the 175th Anniversary of Texas Independence. The main building at the J. Erik Jonsson Center of the National Academy of Sciences is Hackerman House, named in his honor. Hackerman House overlooks Quissett Harbor in Woods Hole MA, on Cape Cod.
See also
*
History of the Jews in Houston
The Jewish community of Houston, Texas has grown and thrived since the 1800s. As of 2008 Jews lived in many Houston neighborhoods and Meyerland is the center of the Jewish community in the area.
History
Until 1880 Houston had a smaller Jewish ...
References
External links
Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackerman, Norman
1912 births
2007 deaths
20th-century American chemists
20th-century American Jews
Baltimore City College alumni
Electrochemistry
Johns Hopkins University alumni
Johns Hopkins University faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Scientists from Baltimore
People from Temple, Texas
Presidents of Rice University
Presidents of the University of Texas at Austin
National Medal of Science laureates
Vannevar Bush Award recipients
Place of birth missing
21st-century American Jews
Presidents of the Electrochemical Society
Members of the American Philosophical Society
20th-century American academics
Virginia Tech faculty