John Dombrowski Roberts (June 8, 1918 – October 29, 2016) was an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

. He made contributions to the integration of physical chemistry,

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets electromagnetic spectra. In narrower contexts, spectroscopy is the precise study of color as generalized from visible light to all bands of the electromagnetic spectrum. Spectro ...

, and

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...

for the understanding of

chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemistry, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. When chemical reactions occur, the atoms are rearranged and the reaction is accompanied by an Gibbs free energy, ...

rates. Another characteristic of Roberts' work was the early use of NMR, focusing on the concept of spin coupling.

Career

Roberts received both a B.A. (1941) and Ph.D. (1944) from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, working under Professor William Gould Young. He held several positions at the California Institute of Technology, including division chairman of chemistry and chemical engineering from 1963 to 1968, dean of the faculty and provost from 1980 to 1983 and Institute Professor of chemistry,

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

(1988–2016) in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He is credited with bringing the first female graduate student, Dorothy Semenow, to Caltech when he moved from MIT. He was a consultant for DuPont Central Research (1950–2008) and for Oak Ridge. He published his autobiography in 1990, ''The Right Place at the Right Time''. Roberts died on October 29, 2016, at the age of 98 from a stroke.

Awards and honors

Roberts was elected a Member of 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 ...

in 1952. He was elected 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 1956 at 38 years old. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1974. In 1978, he was elected a Fellow of The Explorers Club. In 1984, Roberts received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, awarded the Priestley Medal in 1987, the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

in 1990, the Glenn T. Seaborg Medal in 1991, the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences in 1999, the Nakanishi Prize in 2001, the NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society in 2009, the Linus Pauling Legacy Award in 2006 and the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal in 2013. Roberts received honorary degrees from the University of Munich (1962),

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

(1964) and the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. In 1998 he was named by Chemical & Engineering News as one of the 75 most influential chemists of the last 75 years.

References

Sources

* Roberts, John D. "ABCs of FT-NMR." University Science Books, Sausalito, California, 2000. * "JDR." Engineering & Science 1980, 44(2), p. 10.

Books

*
Alternate link to official Caltech repository for book
* * * *
Alternate link to official Caltech repository for book

External links

* *
Caltech faculty page

Biography in E&S

A Video interview of Professor Roberts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John D. 1918 births 2016 deaths Writers from Los Angeles American chemists National Medal of Science laureates University of California, Los Angeles alumni Harvard University faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty California Institute of Technology faculty University of Notre Dame people Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society