My Life In The Golden Age Of Chemistry

A giant in the field and at times a polarizing figure, F. Albert Cotton’s contributions to inorganic chemistry and the area of transitions metals are substantial and undeniable. In his own words, My Life in the Golden Age of Chemistry: More Fun than Fun describes the late chemist’s early life and college years in Philadelphia, his graduate training and research contributions at Harvard with Geoffrey Wilkinson, and his academic career from becoming the youngest ever full professor at MIT (aged 31) to his extensive time at Texas A&M. Professor Cotton’s autobiography offers his unique perspective on the advances he and his contemporaries achieved through one of the most prolific times in modern inorganic chemistry, in research on the then-emerging field of organometallic chemistry, metallocenes, multiple bonding between transition metal atoms, NMR and ESR spectroscopy, hapticity, and more. Working during a time of generous government funding of science and strong sponsorship for good research, Professor Cotton’s experience and observations provide insight into this prolific and exciting period of chemistry. Offers personal and often wry perspective from this prominent chemist and recipient of some of science’s highest honors: the U.S. National Medal of Science (1982), the Priestley Medal (the American Chemical Society's highest recognition, 1998), membership in the U. S. National Academy of Sciences and corresponding international bodies, and 29 honorary doctorates Details the background behind the development and emergence of groundbreaking research in organometallic chemistry and transition metals Provides beautifully-written and engaging insight into a "Golden Age of Chemistry" and the work of historically renowned chemists

This is the first comprehensive history of the chemistry department at Imperial College London. Based on archival records, oral testimony, published papers, published and unpublished memoirs, the book tells the story of this world-famous department from its foundation as the Royal College of Chemistry in 1845 to the large department it had become by the year 2000. The book covers research, teaching, departmental governance, students and social life. It also highlights the extraordinary contributions made to the war effort in both the first and second world wars. From its first professors, A. Wilhelm Hofmann and Edward Frankland, the department has been home to many eminent chemists, including, in the later twentieth century, the Nobel laureates Derek Barton and Geoffrey Wilkinson. New information on these and many others is presented in a lively narrative that places both people and events in the larger historical contexts of chemistry, politics, culture and the economy. The book will interest not only those connected with Imperial College, but anyone interested in chemistry and its history, or in higher

British chemistry has traditionally been depicted as a solely male endeavour. However, this perspective is untrue: the allure of chemistry has attracted women since the earliest times. Despite the barriers placed in their path, women studied academic chemistry from the 1880s onwards and made interesting or significant contributions to their fields, yet they are virtually absent from historical records. Comprising a unique set of biographies of 141 of the 896 known women chemists from 1880 to 1949, this work attempts to address the imbalance by showcasing the determination of these women to survive and flourish in an environment dominated by men. Individual biographical accounts interspersed with contemporary quotes describe how women overcame the barriers of secondary and tertiary education, and of admission to professional societies. Although these women are lost to historical records, they are brought together here for the first time to show that a vibrant culture of female chemists did indeed exist in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Contents:IntroductionGetting an Education: The Professional SocietiesThe London Co-educational CollegesThe London Women's CollegesEnglish Provincial UniversitiesThe Cambridge and Oxford Women's CollegesUniversities in Scotland and WalesHoppy's 'Biochemical Ladies'Women CrystallographersWomen in PharmacyThe Role of Chemists' WivesWomen Chemists and the First World WarThe Interwar Period and Beyond Readership: Historians of science, chemists, those with an interest in women's studies, educationalists, and general readers. Keywords:History;Chemistry;Science;Women;Education;University;SchoolKey Features:Presents the only published account of the lives and contributions of British women chemists from 1880 to 1949Examines the role of certain secondary schools and colleges/universities in encouraging women to choose a career in chemistryHighlights the role of certain males in championing the women chemists' cause and in mentoring individual womenDiscusses the reasons why women clustered in certain fields and the forgotten role of women chemists during the First World WarReviews:“Chemistry was Their Life has been very well researched and is extensively referenced … It is of great interest also to read of the battle which these women had to obtain recognition by professional societies.”Chemistry World “Chemistry was Their Life is an important contribution to the history of chemistry, providing a glimpse into the lives of pioneering British women. It has a lot of information about the women who worked in one or another capacity as chemists … It is warmly recommended to all chemists, chemistry historians, and to scientists involved with gender studies.”Structural Chemistry

Thirteenth in a series of autobiographies of 22 eminent organic chemists, the present volume chronicles the life and contributions to the field of Bruce Merrifield, winner of the 1984 Nobel Prize for chemistry. Subtitled The Concept and Development of Solid-Phase Peptide Synthesis. Highly illustrated with diagrams, tables, graphs and (bandw) photographs. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

From boyhood in the coal-mining village of Coello, Illinois, to winning the Priestly Medal and becoming the president of the American Chemical Society, Professor Emeritus Fred Basolo of Northwestern University traces the intertwined development of his life, career, and the field of inorganic chemistry. With over a hundred photographs and dozens of structures and equations, From Coello to Inorganic Chemistry details the major innovations, travels, family life, and guests hosted while helping to build one of the world's leading inorganic chemistry departments from its humble beginnings at Northwestern University. Students and chemists with interests in bioinorganic chemistry, catalysis, nanoscience, new materials research, and organometallics can follow the emergence of inorganic chemistry as a rival to organic chemistry through the accomplishments of one of its most influential pioneers.

Autobiographical account of the growth of the farbwerke hoechst multinational enterprise of the chemical industry in parallel with the post-war economic recovery of Germany, Federal Republic - relates industrial research policy, the style of industrial management, industrial integration and foreign investment history against the background of international relations and technological change. Illustrations. Biography winnacker k.

The invention of the telescope at the dawning of the 17th century has revolutionized humanity's understanding of the Universe and our place within it. This book traces the development of the telescope over four centuries, as well as the many personalities who used it to uncover brand-new revelations about the Sun, Moon, planets, stars and distant galaxies. Starting with early observers such as Thomas Harriot, Galileo, Johannes Hevelius, Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Robert Hooke and Christian Huygens, the book explores how these early observers arrived at essentially correct ideas concerning the objects they studied. Moving into the 18th and 19th centuries, the author describes the increasing sophistication of telescopes both large and small, and the celebrated figures who used them so productively, including the Herschels, Charles Messier, William Lassell and the Earls of Rosse. Many great discoveries were also made with smaller instruments when placed in the capable hands of the Struve dynasty, F.W. Bessel, Angelo Secchi and S.W Burnham, to name but a few. Nor were all great observers of professional ilk. The book explores the contributions made by the 'clerical astronomers,' William Rutter Dawes, Thomas William Webb, T.E.R Philips and T.H.E.C Espin, as well as the lonely vigils of E.E. Barnard, William F. Denning and Charles Grover. And in the 20th century, the work of Percival Lowell, Leslie Peltier, Eugene M. Antoniadi, Clyde Tombaugh, Walter Scott Houston, David H. Levy and Sir Patrick Moore is fully explored. Generously illustrated throughout, this treasure trove of astronomical history shows how each observer's work led to seminal developments in science, and providing key insights into how we go about exploring the heavens today.