Walter Hugo Stockmayer (April 7, 1914 in

Rutherford, New Jersey Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 18,834. Rutherford was formed as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 21, 1881, fr ...

– May 9, 2004 in

Norwich, Vermont Norwich is a town in Windsor County, in the U.S. state of Vermont. The population was 3,612 at the 2020 census. Home to some of the state of Vermont's wealthiest residents, the municipality is a commuter town for nearby Hanover, New Hampshir ...

) was an internationally known chemist and university teacher. A former member of the National Academy of Sciences, he was recognized as one of the twentieth century pioneers of

polymer A polymer (; Greek '' poly-'', "many" + ''-mer'', "part") is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules called macromolecules, composed of many repeating subunits. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, both synthetic a ...

science. His specific interest was in theory and experiment for the structure and dynamics of polymer molecules, including various uses of the

light scattering Scattering is a term used in physics to describe a wide range of physical processes where moving particles or radiation of some form, such as light or sound, are forced to deviate from a straight trajectory by localized non-uniformities (including ...

method. Stockmayer became interested in the mathematical aspects of

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 ...

as an undergraduate at

MIT 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 the m ...

. A Rhodes Scholarship brought him to

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, where he undertook gas kinetics research with D. L. Chapman. He introduced the Stockmayer potential. Stockmayer returned to MIT for Ph.D. research and pursued his study of statistical mechanics, which he later continued at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He returned again to MIT in 1943 to study the theory of network formation and the gelation criterion. Stockmayer increasingly directed his attention to theories of polymer solutions, light scattering and chain dynamics. After a Guggenheim Fellowship for the academic year 1954/1955 in Strasbourg, France, he returned once more to MIT, then moved to

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

in 1961. There, he worked primarily on

copolymers In polymer chemistry, a copolymer is a polymer derived from more than one species of monomer. The polymerization of monomers into copolymers is called copolymerization. Copolymers obtained from the copolymerization of two monomer species are some ...

in dilute solution, established the journal ''

Macromolecules A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biophysical processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently bonded atoms. Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The ...

'', and collaborated with many Japanese scientists. Stockmayer is mentioned as a friend of the author in the novel ''

Breakfast of Champions ''Breakfast of Champions, or Goodbye Blue Monday'' is a 1973 novel by the American author Kurt Vonnegut. His seventh novel, it is set predominantly in the fictional town of Midland City, Ohio, and focuses on two characters: Dwayne Hoover, a Midl ...

'' by

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

, and is described as a distinguished pianist and a good skier. A fellowship in honor of Professor Stockmayer was established at Dartmouth College in 1994.

External links

In Memoriam Dr. Walter H. Stockmayer (1914-2004)
Dartmouth College
The Papers of Walter H. Stockmayer
at Dartmouth College Library * *

References

1914 births 2004 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford American physical chemists American Rhodes Scholars Columbia University faculty Dartmouth College faculty National Medal of Science laureates People from Rutherford, New Jersey Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society {{US-chemist-stub

See also

Further reading

External links

References