Robert Arnold Alberty (1921-2014) was an American
biophysical chemist, Professor Emeritus at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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 th ...
, and a member of the
National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nat ...
.
Alberty earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the
University of Nebraska
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...
in 1943 and 1944, respectively, then a doctoral degree from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
in 1947. For his work in the area of
biochemical thermodynamics, Alberty was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1965. In 1968 he was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) 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, a ...
.
He was dean of the MIT School of Science between 1967-1982.
Alberty is also known for his textbooks on
physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistica ...
, which have gone through many editions. The first one, ''Physical Chemistry'', co-authored with
Farrington Daniels, was published in 1957. More recent books of the same title have been co-authored with
Robert J. Silbey and
Moungi G. Bawendi (2004). Other works include ''Thermodynamics of Biochemical Reactions '' (2003) and ''Biochemical Thermodynamics: Applications of Mathematica (Methods of Biochemical Analysis)'' (2006).
He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the age of 92 on January 18, 2014. Towards the end of his life he wrote a short account of his life and scientific career.
Research
At the beginning of his career Alberty worked principally on aspects of
electrophoresis
Electrophoresis, from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, "amber") and φόρησις (phórēsis, "the act of bearing"), is the motion of dispersed particles relative to a fluid under the influence of a spatially uniform electric fi ...
in
protein chemistry. Later he became increasingly concerned with the
kinetics
Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to:
Science and medicine
* Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes
** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies
* Chemical kin ...
and
mechanisms of
enzyme-catalysed reactions,
initially studying
fumarase in particular.
He was among the first to consider the kinetics of reactions with more than one substrate, and in the years that followed there was hardly any aspect of enzyme kinetics he did not touch, his work including, for example, studies of pH, integrated rate equations,
reversible reactions,
effects of temperature, effects of buffers and inhibitors, and others.
Alberty's early interest in the ionization of adenosine phosphates
and of thermodynamic aspects of biochemical reactions came to be his primary interest, and in his later years he had numerous publications on this topic, such as a compilation of the properties of
ATP and related compounds. He worked with
IUPAC
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...
on recommendations for presenting data for biochemical thermodynamics.
Although he was primarily concerned with single enzyme-catalysed reactions, he also did some work with systems of more than one enzyme, such as the urea cycle.
See also
Kenneth Burton
Kenneth Burton FRS (26 June 1926 – 22 November 2010) was a British biochemist, and Professor at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at High Pavement Grammar School (Nottingham), Wath Grammar School and King's College, Cambri ...
References
External links
Robert A. Alberty Papers MC-0681. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Distinctive Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Faculty web page at MIT
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberty, Robert
1921 births
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
2014 deaths
University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
American physical chemists
Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Members of the National Academy of Medicine