Kenneth Wade, (1932–2014) was a British

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 t ...

and professor emeritus at Durham University.

Early life and education

Kenneth Wade was born in

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the nor ...

on 13 October 1932, the second son of Harry Kennington Wade and his wife, Anna Elizabeth Wade. He was educated at

Carre's Grammar School Carre's Grammar School is a selective secondary school for boys in Sleaford, a market town in Lincolnshire, England. Founded on 1 September 1604 by an indenture of Robert Carre, the school was funded by rents from farmland and run by a group ...

,"Wade, Prof. Kenneth"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2007). Retrieved 28 December 2017. and graduated from the

University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...

as the first PhD student (1954–1957) of

Norman Greenwood Norman Neill Greenwood FRS CChem FRSC (19 January 1925 – 14 November 2012) was an Australian-British chemist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Leeds. Together with Alan Earnshaw, he wrote the textbook ''Chemistry of the Elements' ...

, and

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 ...

Career

After spending two years as a post-doctoral student at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

and two further years lecturing successively at

and Derby College of Technology, in 1961 Wade became a Lecturer at Durham University. In 1971, he was appointed Senior Lecturer and was promoted to Reader in 1977. Between 1983 and 1998, he was Professor of Chemistry at the university and served, between 1986 and 1989, as Chairman of its Department of Chemistry. Wade's Rules, also known as

Polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory In chemistry the polyhedral skeletal electron pair theory (PSEPT) provides electron counting rules useful for predicting the structures of clusters such as borane and carborane clusters. The electron counting rules were originally formulated by ...

, are a set of electron counting rules to predict the shapes of

borane Trihydridoboron, also known as borane or borine, is an unstable and highly reactive molecule with the chemical formula . The preparation of borane carbonyl, BH3(CO), played an important role in exploring the chemistry of boranes, as it indicated ...

clusters.

Awards

*1982: Main Group Award,

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...

. *1999:

Tilden Prize The Tilden Prize is an award that is made by the Royal Society of Chemistry for advances in chemistry. The award was established in 1939 and commemorates Sir William A. Tilden, a prominent British chemist. The prize runs annually with up to three ...

. *1989: Fellow,

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. *1999: Ludwig Mond Award,

. *2012: Chancellor's Medal,

University of Durham Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charte ...

References

External links

"Collection of articles dedicated to Professor Ken Wade, F.R.S. in celebration of his seventy-fifth birthday"
''

Dalton Transactions ''Dalton Transactions'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original (primary) research and review articles on all aspects of the chemistry of inorganic, bioinorganic, and organometallic compounds. It is published weekly by the Roy ...

'', 3 April 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Wade, Kenneth British chemists 1932 births 2014 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society Academics of Durham University Alumni of the University of Nottingham People educated at Carre's Grammar School Cornell University alumni