Fred Warren McLafferty (May 11, 1923 − December 26, 2021) was an American chemist known for his work in mass spectrometry. He is best known for the

McLafferty rearrangement The McLafferty rearrangement is a reaction observed in mass spectrometry during the fragmentation or dissociation of organic molecules. It is sometimes found that a molecule containing a keto-group undergoes β-cleavage, with the gain of the γ-hyd ...

reaction that was observed with mass spectrometry. With Roland Gohlke, he pioneered the technique of

gas chromatography–mass spectrometry Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is an analytical method that combines the features of gas-chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify different substances within a test sample. Applications of GC-MS include drug detection, ...

. He is also known for

electron-capture dissociation Electron-capture dissociation (ECD) is a method of fragmenting gas-phase ions for structure elucidation of peptides and proteins in tandem mass spectrometry. It is one of the most widely used techniques for activation and dissociation of mass sel ...

, a method of fragmenting gas-phase ions.

Early life and education

Fred McLafferty was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1923, but attended grade school in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, graduating from

Omaha North High School Omaha North High Magnet School is a public high school located at 4410 North 36th Street in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The school is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) magnet school in the Omaha Public Schools district. N ...

in 1940. The urgent requirements of

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 opposing ...

accelerated his undergraduate studies at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

; he obtained his B.S. degree in 1943 and thereafter entered the US armed forces. He served in western Europe during the invasion of Germany and was awarded the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of e ...

, a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

, Five

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

Medals and a Presidential Unit Citation. He returned to the University of Nebraska in late 1945 and completed his M.S. degree in 1947. He went on to work under William Miller at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

where he earned his Ph.D. in 1950. He went on to a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

position at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

with R.L. Shriner.

Dow Chemical

He took a position at Dow Chemical in

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Michigan. The city's population was 42,547 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Com ...

in 1950 and was in charge of mass spectrometry and gas chromatography from 1950 to 1956. In 1956, he became the Director of Dow's Eastern Research Lab in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...

. During this time, he developed the first GC/MS instruments and developed techniques for determining the structure of organic molecules by mass spectrometry, most notably in the discovery of what is now known as the McLafferty rearrangement.

Academic career

From 1964 to 1968, he was Professor of Chemistry at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

. In 1968, he returned to his ''alma mater'', Cornell University, to become the Peter J. W. Debye Professor of Chemistry. He was elected to the

United States 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 1982. While at Cornell, McLafferty assembled one of the first comprehensive databases of mass spectra and pioneered artificial intelligence techniques to interpret GC/MS results. His PBM STIRS program has widespread use to save hours of time-consuming work otherwise required to manually analyze GC/MS results.

Personal life and death

McLafferty died in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

, on December 26, 2021, at the age of 98.

Honors and awards

*1971

ACS Award in Chemical Instrumentation ACS or Acs may refer to: Organizations and societies * American Cancer Society, an American voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer * American Ceramic Society, an American professional organization * American Cheese Society ...

*1981

ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry ACS or Acs may refer to: Organizations and societies * American Cancer Society, an American voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer * American Ceramic Society, an American professional organization * American Cheese Society ...

*1984 William H. Nichols Medal *1985 Oesper Award *1985 J. J. Thomson Gold Medal by International Mass Spectrometry Society *1987 Pittsburgh Analytical Chemistry Award *1989 Field and Franklin Award for Mass Spectrometry *1989 University of Naples Gold Medal *1992 Robert Boyle Gold Medal by the Royal Society of Chemistry *1996 Chemical Pioneer Award from the

American Institute of Chemists The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the United States. The institute is known for its yearly awards recognizing contributions of individuals in this fi ...

*1997 Bijvoet Medal of the

Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research The Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research is a research institute at Utrecht University. The Bijvoet Centre performs research on the relation between the structure and function of biomolecules, including proteins and lipids, which play a role ...

. *1999 J. Heyrovsky Medal by the Czech Academy of Sciences *2000 G. Natta Gold Medal by Italian Chemical Society *2001 Torbern Bergman Medal by the Swedish Chemical Society *200
John B. Fenn Distinguished Contribution in Mass Spectrometry
by the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) *2004

Lavoisier Medal A Lavoisier Medal is an award named and given in honor of Antoine Lavoisier, considered by some to be a father of modern chemistry.

by the French Chemical Society *2006 Pehr Edman Award by the International Association for Protein Structure *2015

Nakanishi Prize The Nakanishi Prize, named after Japanese chemist Koji Nakanishi, is an award in chemistry given alternately by the Chemical Society of Japan and the American Chemical Society. Purpose "To recognize and stimulate significant work that exten ...

from the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

*2019

designated a National Historic Chemical Landmark in Midland, MI for the demonstration of the first operating GC-MS by Fred McLafferty and Roland Gohlke.

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

A Conversation with Fred W. McLafferty 2006
90 minute video, for Cornell University. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLafferty, Fred 1923 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American chemists Mass spectrometrists Purdue University faculty Cornell University alumni Cornell University faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Dow Chemical Company employees Bijvoet Medal recipients Thomson Medal recipients Omaha North High School alumni People from Evanston, Illinois United States Army personnel of World War II