Severyn Marcel Sternhell (30 May 1930 – 18 November 2022) was a Polish-born Australian academic and organic chemist. He was professor of Chemistry at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. His research focused on the induction of chirality into mesophases, aspects of steric hindrance and the mechanochemistry of organic compounds.

Early life and education

Sternhell was born in Lwow, then in Poland but now in western Ukraine. His father was Samson Sternhell, a lawyer. Before the war he attended a

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

primary school for five years. Having survived the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, he emigrated to Australia with his parents to join members of the Sternhell family who had left Europe prior to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Arriving in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in February 1947, he enrolled as a

boarder A boarder may be a person who: *snowboards *skateboards *bodyboards * surfs *stays at a boarding house *attends a boarding school *takes part in a boarding attack The Boarder may also refer to: * ''The Boarder'' (1953 film), a 1953 Soviet drama ...

at Newington College a few days after the commencement of the first term. Having had no formal education since primary school, and only learnt English recently in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, he spent the next nine months studying for the Leaving Certificate. He sat for his exams and received four A's and a B in English. Following Newington, he attended the

and graduated with a BSc (hons) in 1951 and a MSc in 1953. In 1961, he was awarded a PhD and DIC from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. After further study in London, he received a DSc from

Imperial College Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

Research and university career

Sternhell began his career as a research chemist in private industry with Monsanto in 1953. Two years later, he was appointed a senior research officer at

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

and remained in that position until 1964. Sternhell was a senior lecturer in the Department of Organic Chemistry at the University of Sydney, from 1964 until 1967. He spent a further ten years as a reader in organic chemistry at the University of Sydney before being appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry. He was an Emeritus Professor from 1999. In 1991–92, he was chairman of the

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

Chemical Sciences Panel.

Fellowships and honours

Sternhell was a Fellow, of the Australian Academy of Science and of the

Royal Australian Chemical Institute The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) is both the qualifying body in Australia for professional chemists and a learned society promoting the science and practice of chemistry in all its branches. The RACI hosts conferences, seminars and ...

. In 2001, he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for his service to Australian society and science in organic chemistry and molecular engineering. In June 2018, he was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

"for distinguished service to education in the field of organic chemistry, specifically to nuclear magnetic resonance, as an academic and researcher, and to scientific institutions."

Death

Sternhell died in

Naremburn Naremburn is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Naremburn is located 6 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby. History The suburb n ...

on 18 November 2022, at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sternhell, Sever 1930 births 2022 deaths Alumni of Imperial College London Australian Jews Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent Bergen-Belsen concentration camp survivors Academic staff of the University of Sydney University of Sydney alumni People educated at Newington College Organic chemists Australian chemists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Officers of the Order of Australia