Charles Bonner Harris (April 24, 1940 – March 10, 2020) was an American physical chemist.

Education and career

Charles B. Harris was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and spent most of his youth in

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe is a group of five adjacent suburbs in the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area on the shore of Lake St. Clair. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe, Michiga ...

. He attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

and received a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1963. In 1966 he received his Ph.D. in chemistry at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

under F. Albert Cotton. His doctoral research included the determination of the crystal structure of

potassium octachlorodirhenate Potassium octachlorodirhenate(III) is an inorganic compound with the formula K2 Re2 Cl8. This dark blue salt is well known as an early example of a compound featuring quadruple bond between its metal centers. Although the compound has no practica ...

, which led to its identification as the first substance shown to have a

quadruple bond A quadruple bond is a type of chemical bond between two atoms involving eight electrons. This bond is an extension of the more familiar types of covalent bonds: double bonds and triple bonds. Stable quadruple bonds are most common among the transit ...

. In 1967 Harris went to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he became a professor in the chemistry department. He headed this department from 2003 and was dean of the faculty from 2004 to 2007. In 2015 he retired. His research focus was in the field of ultrafast dynamics and electron dynamics as well as the dynamics of chemical reactions in liquids. He educated multiple generations of scientists in chemical dynamics and ultrafast science who have since become leaders in the field including, as Ph.D. students,

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Michael D. Fayer Michael David Fayer (born September 12, 1947) is an American chemical physicist. He is the David Mulvane Ehrsam and Edward Curtis Franklin Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. Education and academic career He attended the University of ...

Roseanne Sension ''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams that originally aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. Starring Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner, it ...

, Nien-hui Ge, Kelly Gaffney and as postdocs,

Ahmed Zewail Ahmed Hassan Zewail (February 26, 1946 – August 2, 2016) was an Egyptian-American chemist, known as the "father of femtochemistry". He was awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry and became the first Egyptian a ...

and Alan Campion.

Honors and awards

Harris was elected a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, 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 ...

in 2002. Besides, he is also a member the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

, the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

, the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

, and the

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Charles B. 1940 births 2020 deaths University of California, Berkeley faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni American physical chemists Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences American chemists Scientists from New York City