John Scales Avery (May 26, 1933 – January 4, 2024) was an American theoretical chemist noted for his research publications in

quantum chemistry Quantum chemistry, also called molecular quantum mechanics, is a branch of physical chemistry focused on the application of quantum mechanics to chemical systems, particularly towards the quantum-mechanical calculation of electronic contributions ...

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

, and

history of science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

. Since the early 1990s, Avery had been an active world peace activist. During these years, he was part of a group associated with the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. In 1995, this group received the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

for their efforts. He was an Associate Professor in quantum chemistry at the

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen (, KU) is a public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in Scandinavia, after Uppsala University. ...

. His 2003 book ''Information Theory and Evolution'' set forth the view that the phenomenon of

life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

, including its origin and evolution, including human cultural evolution, has its background situated over thermodynamics,

statistical mechanics In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods and probability theory to large assemblies of microscopic entities. Sometimes called statistical physics or statistical thermodynamics, its applicati ...

, and

information theory Information theory is the mathematical study of the quantification (science), quantification, Data storage, storage, and telecommunications, communication of information. The field was established and formalized by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, ...

. Avery died on January 4, 2024, at the age of 90.

Early life

Avery was born in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

on May 26, 1933, to American parents. Avery's parents were both born in the United States, in the state of

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, where they studied at 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 ...

. His father studied medicine while his mother studied bacteriology. After graduation, his parents did research together at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. Later, his father did research in a borderline area between

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

with Arthur Holly Compton, discoverer of the " Compton effect", at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. In 1926, his father moved the family to Beirut, where his father worked as a professor of anatomy at the American University of Beirut. The family stayed in Beirut until the start of World War II. It was during these tumultuous years that John Scales Avery was born.

Education

*1950 – graduated, Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass. *1954 – B.Sc., physics, M.I.T *1955 – M.Sc., physics,

*1965 – Ph.D., theoretical chemistry, Imperial College, London

Thermodynamics

In his recent 2003 book ''Information Theory and Evolution'' (2nd Edition, 2012), Avery combines

with

to account for the phenomenon of life, including its origin and evolution. Since the beginning of the formulation of the

second law of thermodynamics The second law of thermodynamics is a physical law based on Universal (metaphysics), universal empirical observation concerning heat and Energy transformation, energy interconversions. A simple statement of the law is that heat always flows spont ...

in the 1860s, which states that the

entropy Entropy is a scientific concept, most commonly associated with states of disorder, randomness, or uncertainty. The term and the concept are used in diverse fields, from classical thermodynamics, where it was first recognized, to the micros ...

, or disorder, of an isolated system tends to increase with time, there has been a debate as to how this law relates to the "ordering" process of

. The apparent paradox between the second law of thermodynamics and the high degree of order and complexity produced by living systems, according to Avery, has its resolution "in the information content of the Gibbs free energy that enters the biosphere from outside sources." (2nd Edition, 2012)

Activism

Since 1990, Avery had been the Contact Person for Denmark at the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. In 1995, Avery was part of a group that shared in the

for their work in the 1990s in organizing the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. In 1998, Avery was elected to the Danish Peace Commission. From 1988 to 1997, Avery was the Technical Advisor at the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

, Regional Office for Europe. In 2004, Avery became the Chairman of the Danish Peace Academy.

Books

*Avery, John. (2012). ''Information Theory and Evolution''. World Scientific. (2nd Edition) *Avery, John. (2005).
Science and Society
'', 2nd Ed. (PDF, 375 pgs.). Copenhagen: H.C. Orsted Institute. *Avery, John. (2004).
Calculus and Differential Equations
' – an introductory book. (PDF, 135 pgs.). University of Copenhagen: Pari New Learning Publications. *Avery, John. (2002).
Space-Age Science and Stone-Age Politics
' (PDF, 272 pgs.) Danish Peace Academy: Danish Pugwash Group. *Avery, John (1997) ''Progress, Poverty and Population'', Frank Cass, London, (1997) Scientific books: *Hyperspherical Harmonics and Generalized Sturmians, by J. Avery, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 2000 *Hyperspherical Harmonics; Applications in Quantum Theory, by J. Avery, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1989 *Creation and Annihilation Operators, by J. Avery, McGraw-Hill, 1976 *The Quantum Theory of Atoms, Molecules and Photons, by J. Avery, McGraw-Hill, 1972 As well as more than 150 ww.ki.ku.dk/dokumenter/PDF/Publications-JS-Avery.pdf

References

External links

Biography
- Overview

– faculty page, University of Copenhagen

- Danish Peace Academy
www.johnavery.info/
Official Site {{DEFAULTSORT:Avery, John Scales 1933 births 2024 deaths Scientists from Beirut Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni University of Chicago alumni Alumni of Imperial College London 21st-century American chemists Danish chemists Thermodynamicists