Merle A. Battiste (July 22, 1933 – August 8, 2009) was an American chemist and

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 ...

professor of chemistry at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

Early life and education

Battiste was born on July 22, 1933, in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

. His parents were David Theodore Battiste (1895-1987) and Flossie Mae Battiste (''nee'' Older) (1897-1957). Battiste was the youngest of four siblings: one which died at infancy (1917-1917), Marion Theodore Battiste (1918-1988), James Melvin Battiste (Mildred), and Marie Wilson. He attended Murphy High School. Battiste received a B.S. degree from The Citadel, Military College of South Carolina, an M.S. degree in organic chemistry from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

at Baton Rouge, under Prof. J. G. Traynham, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1959. He was

Ronald Breslow Ronald Charles David Breslow (March 14, 1931 – October 25, 2017) was an American chemist from Rahway, New Jersey. He was University Professor at Columbia University, where he was based in the Department of Chemistry and affiliated with the Depa ...

’s first Ph.D. student.

Career

After conducting postdoctoral research (1960) with

Saul Winstein Saul Winstein (October 8, 1912 – November 23, 1969) was a Jewish Canadian chemist who discovered the ''Winstein reaction.'' He argued a non-classical cation was needed to explain the stability of the norbornyl cation. This fueled a debate ...

at the University of California, Los Angeles, and after a short stint in the army, he joined the faculty at the

where he remained as a professor of organic chemistry for 42 years, until his retirement in 2004. Battiste's research focused on the synthesis of novel molecular structures. He published over 130 peer-reviewed papers in organic chemistry and was known as a dedicated, passionate teacher. As a passionate teacher, he convinced one of his research assistants, future Nobel Laureate

Robert H. Grubbs Robert Howard Grubbs ForMemRS (February 27, 1942 – December 19, 2021) was an American chemist and the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. He was a co-recipient o ...

, to study organic chemistry rather than agriculture science.

Personal life

Battiste died at his home Gainesville, Florida, on August 8, 2009. Battiste loved gardening and he was member of the Gainesville Camellia Society for many years.

Awards and honors

Battiste was a Sloan Fellow, a Fulbright Research Scholar, and an Erskine Fellow. He was also an emeritus member of

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

, joining in 1959. The University of Florida created the Battiste Award in Synthetic Chemistry. Originally established in 2005 as the Petra Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, the award name was changed in 2007 to honor Professor Battiste.

Memberships

* 1959:

* Fulbright Research Scholar * Erskine Fellow

References

External links

* 2009 deaths 1933 births Louisiana State University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni University of Florida faculty The Citadel alumni People from Mobile, Alabama University of Florida alumni Chemists from Alabama 20th-century American chemists 21st-century American chemists {{US-chemist-stub