John Dombrowski Roberts (June 8, 1918 – October 29, 2016) was an American chemist. He made contributions to the integration of physical chemistry, spectroscopy, and

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...

for the understanding of chemical reaction rates. Another characteristic of Roberts' work was the early use of NMR, focusing on the concept of spin coupling.

Career

Roberts received both a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

(1941) and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

(1944) from the University of California, Los Angeles, working under Professor William Gould Young. He held several positions at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

, including division chairman of chemistry and chemical engineering from 1963 to 1968,

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the faculty and provost from 1980 to 1983 and Institute Professor of chemistry, emeritus (1988–2016) in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He is credited with bringing the first female graduate student, Dorothy Semenow, to Caltech when he moved from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

. He was a consultant for

DuPont Central Research In 1957, the research organization of the Chemicals Department of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company was renamed Central Research Department, beginning the history of the premier scientific organization within DuPont and one of the foremost indus ...

(1950–2008) and for Oak Ridge. He published his autobiography in 1990, ''The Right Place at the Right Time''. Roberts died on October 29, 2016, at the age of 98 from a stroke.

Awards and honors

Roberts was elected a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1952. He was elected Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1956 at 38 years old. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1974. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of

The Explorers Club The Explorers Club is an American-based international multidisciplinary professional society with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. The club was founded in New York City in 1904, and has served as a meeting point fo ...

. In 1984, Roberts received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a non-profit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest achieving individuals in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet ...

, awarded the Priestley Medal in 1987, 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 ...

in 1990, the Glenn T. Seaborg Medal in 1991, the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences in 1999, the Nakanishi Prize in 2001, the NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society in 2009, the Linus Pauling Legacy Award in 2006 and the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal in 2013. Roberts received honorary degrees from the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...

(1962), Temple University (1964) and the University of Notre Dame. In 1998 he was named by

Chemical & Engineering News ''Chemical & Engineering News'' (''C&EN'') is a weekly news magazine published by the American Chemical Society, providing professional and technical news and analysis in the fields of chemistry and chemical engineering.

References

Sources

*Roberts, John D. "ABCs of FT-NMR." University Science Books, Sausalito, California, 2000. *"JDR." Engineering & Science 1980, 44(2), p. 10.

Books

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Alternate link to official Caltech repository for book
* * * *
Alternate link to official Caltech repository for book

External links

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Caltech faculty pageBiography in E&SA Video interview of Professor Roberts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John D. 1918 births 2016 deaths Writers from Los Angeles American chemists National Medal of Science laureates University of California, Los Angeles alumni Harvard University faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty California Institute of Technology faculty University of Notre Dame people Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society