Reed McNeil Izatt (October 10, 1926 – October 29, 2023) was an American chemist who was emeritus Charles E. Maw Professor of Chemistry at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. His field of research was macrocyclic chemistry and metal separation technologies.

Biography

Reed McNeil Izatt was born in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

on October 10, 1926. His first ten years were spent on a ranch in Sumpter Valley,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

where he attended school in a two-room schoolhouse. He developed an interest in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. His family then returned to Logan, Utah and he graduated from Logan High School in 1944. On June 6, 1944, Izatt enrolled at Utah State Agricultural College (now

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

). In 1945 and 1946, Izatt served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and from 1947 to 1949, he was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. While stationed at Fort Douglas, Izatt studied at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

and in 1951, he received a bachelor of science in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. Izatt took postgraduate studies in chemistry at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

. He was mentored by W. Conard Fernelius and in 1954 received a doctorate degree. Izatt died in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, on October 29, 2023, at the age of 97.

Career

Izatt worked at the Mellon Institute for Industrial Research (now part of

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

) for two years before taking a faculty position in the Department of Chemistry at Brigham Young University (BYU). He retired from BYU in 1993 as the Charles E. Maw Professor of Chemistry. Izatt and James J. Christensen, a chemical engineer, founded a thermochemical institute at BYU to promote and facilitate interdisciplinary research.

ISI Ranking

Reed M. Izatt's number in the ISI rankings is 68.

Scientific work

Izatt and his colleagues, James J. Christensen and John L. Oscarson constructed and used a variety of novel high precision calorimeters to study a number of host and guest chemical systems of both academic and commercial interest. Izatt's thermodynamic results have been used in the development of macrocyclic and supramolecular chemistry,

molecular recognition Supramolecular chemistry refers to the branch of chemistry concerning Chemical species, chemical systems composed of a integer, discrete number of molecules. The strength of the forces responsible for spatial organization of the system range from w ...

, heats of mixing,

nucleic acid Nucleic acids are large biomolecules that are crucial in all cells and viruses. They are composed of nucleotides, which are the monomer components: a pentose, 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group and a nitrogenous base. The two main classes of nuclei ...

chemistry, metal

cyanide In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...

chemistry, chemical separations,

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

microspecies In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each ot ...

formation and high- temperature corrosion chemistry.

Macrocyclic chemistry

Izatt and Christensen made the first extensive thermodynamic study using titration

calorimetry In chemistry and thermodynamics, calorimetry () is the science or act of measuring changes in '' state variables'' of a body for the purpose of deriving the heat transfer associated with changes of its state due, for example, to chemical reac ...

of the highly selective metal complexation properties of metal-cyclic polyether interactions. This work was followed by research correlating metal ion selectivity to

macrocycle Macrocycles are often described as molecules and ions containing a ring of twelve or more atoms. Classical examples include the crown ethers, calixarenes, porphyrins, and cyclodextrins. Macrocycles describe a large, mature area of chemistry. ...

structure in a variety of

solvents A solvent (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for p ...

using a range of

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

ions An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

and organic

amine In chemistry, amines (, ) are organic compounds that contain carbon-nitrogen bonds. Amines are formed when one or more hydrogen atoms in ammonia are replaced by alkyl or aryl groups. The nitrogen atom in an amine possesses a lone pair of elec ...

cations An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by convent ...

. Using

chiral Chirality () is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek language, Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is dist ...

macrocycles Macrocycles are often described as molecules and ions containing a Ring (chemistry), ring of twelve or more atoms. Classical examples include the crown ethers, calixarenes, porphyrins, and cyclodextrins. Macrocycles describe a large, mature area ...

and

alkylammonium

salts In chemistry, a salt or ionic compound is a chemical compound consisting of an assembly of positively charged ions ( cations) and negatively charged ions (anions), which results in a compound with no net electric charge (electrically neutral). ...

, Izatt and his colleagues were the first to establish host–guest chiral recognition in a given system by more than one experimental method (temperature-dependent ¹HNMR spectroscopy in CD₂Cl₂, titration calorimetry in methanol, and selective crystallization) and to report K, ΔH, and ΔS values for the interactions, thus quantitating the reactions. Subsequent x- ray crystallographic results provided a structural basis for the recognition. Use of

fluorophores A fluorophore (or fluorochrome, similarly to a chromophore) is a fluorescent chemical compound that can re-emit light upon light excitation. Fluorophores typically contain several combined aromatic groups, or planar or cyclic molecules with se ...

appended to macrocycles provides advantages over other techniques for selective and sensitive metal ion detection. Izatt demonstrated that certain 8-¬hydroxyquinoline derivatives attached to diazamacrocycles elicit a strong

fluorescent Fluorescence is one of two kinds of photoluminescence, the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. When exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many substances will glow (fluoresce) with color ...

response when complexed to selected closed-shell metal

. That is, Hg²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Mg²⁺. The novelty of this work lies in the high-fluorescent selectivity these

ligands In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's ...

possess for the indicated metal ions in the presence of competing metal ions. The work presents the possibility of producing novel supported sensor systems capable of metal detection. In principle, detection limits could be well below parts per trillion (ng/mL). This level of detection coupled with the high metal ion selectivity imparted by the macrocyclic ligand could make these systems valuable in detecting target metal ions in environmental chemistry and as a means of continuously monitoring target metal ion concentrations in industrial streams.

Separations chemistry

Izatt and his colleagues were the first to attach

to a solid matrix and make highly selective metal separations. This achievement resulted in the establishment of IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. (IBC) which commercialized the discovery.

Awards

Izatt was a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

(1982). He was the BYU Annual Faculty Lecture in 1970. Izatt received the Utah Award (1971) (Salt Lake Section, American Chemical Society); the Huffman Award (1983) (Calorimetry Conference); the

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 ...

Separations Science and Technology Award (1996); the

Utah Governor's Medal for Science and Technology The Utah Governor's Medal for Science and Technology is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of Utah in those fields. It is awarded in the five categories of academia, science education, industry, government, and a special category. ...

(1990); and the First Annual Alumni Achievement Award (2001) (Utah State University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry).

Legacy

Commercialization of research results

In the 1960s, Izatt and Christensen developed high-precision titration calorimeters capable of simultaneously measuring equilibrium constants and heats for

chemical reactions A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the 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 energy change as new products ...

rapidly and with precision. These calorimeters were marketed worldwide through TRONAC, a chemical instrumentation company located in

. This calorimeter line was later acquired by TA Instruments. In 1988, IBC Advanced Technologies, Incorporated (IBC) was founded in Provo, Utah by Izatt, Bradshaw and Christensen. IBC commercialized work in chemical separations using an environmentally safe process based on

technology (MRT).Izatt, N. et al ''Contributions of Professor Reed M. Izatt to molecular recognition technology: from laboratory to commercial application.'' Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2000 Vol 39 pp3405-3411 The MRT process enables the rapid and highly selective separation of metals from solutions even in the presence of complex matrices consisting of high concentrations of competing metals and high concentrations of acids or bases. This technology is important in the purification of precious, rare, and base metals during the refining process as well as in the recovery of these metals from spent products such as

catalysts Catalysis () is the increase in reaction rate, rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst ...

and

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

. IBC's MRT products are effective in the remediation of

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. It is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, nuclear decommissioning, rare-earth mining, and nuclear ...

, selectively separating and concentrating radionuclides such as Cs, Sr, Tc, and Ra.Goken, G. et al ''Metal ion separations using superLig or anaLig materials encased in empore cartridges and disks.'' 1999.Bond A. et al ''Metal ion separation and preconcentration; progress and opportunities.'' ACS Symposium Series 716, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., Chapter 17, pp251-259. In addition, IBC's MRT products are used for analytical sample preparation and determination of metals, including toxic metals and radionuclides.

International macrocyclic chemistry symposia

In 1977, Izatt and Christensen organized the first ''

Symposium In Ancient Greece, the symposium (, ''sympósion'', from συμπίνειν, ''sympínein'', 'to drink together') was the part of a banquet that took place after the meal, when drinking for pleasure was accompanied by music, dancing, recitals, o ...

on Macrocylic Compounds'' in Provo, Utah. In 1985, this and related symposia were incorporated into the ''International Symposium on Macrocyclic Chemistry (ISMC)''.Izatt, R. et al. ''Contributions of the International Symposium on Macrocyclic Chemistry to the development of macrocyclic chemistry.'' in ''Macrocyclic Chemistry: Current and Future Perspectives.'' Gloe, K., (ed.) Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2005, Chapter 1, pp. 1-14. In 2006, ISMC was expanded to include

supramolecular chemistry Supramolecular chemistry refers to the branch of chemistry concerning Chemical species, chemical systems composed of a integer, discrete number of molecules. The strength of the forces responsible for spatial organization of the system range from w ...

and the name was changed to International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (ISMSC).

International Izatt-Christensen award

Since 1991, the International Izatt-Christensen award is presented annually at the ISMC (until 2005) and ISMSC (from 2006) meetings. The award recognizes excellence in macrocyclic and supramolecular chemistry and is regarded as the highest international award in these areas. Recipients include: * Jean-Pierre Sauvage (1991) * Eiichi Kimura (1992) * J. Fraser Stoddart (1993) * Daryle H. Busch (1994) * David N. Reinhoudt (1995) * George W. Gokel (1996) * Alan M. Sargeson (1997) * Seiji Shinkai (1998) * Fritz Vögtle (1999) * Jerry L. Atwood (2000) * Jonathan Sessler (2001) * David Gutsche (2002) * Jeremy Sanders (2003) * Makoto Fujita (2004) * Kenneth Raymond (2005) * Roeland Nolte (2006) * David Leigh (2007) * Akira Harada (2008) * Omar M. Yaghi (2009) * Luigi Fabbrizzi (2010) * Andrew D. Hamilton (2011) * Kimoon Kim (2012) * Eric V. Anslyn (2013) * Mir Wais Hosseini (2014) * Paul D. Beer (2015) * Hanadi Sleiman (2016) * Harry L. Anderson (2017) * Philip A. Gale (2018) * Luisa De Cola (2019) * Mitsuhiko Shionoya (2020) * Ivan Huc (2021) * Jonathan Nitschke (2022) * Sijbren Otto (2023) * Enrico Dalcanale (2024) * Christopher A. Hunter (2025)

Endowed Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen awards

In 2007, Izatt created an endowment at Brigham Young University to reward faculty excellence in research in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and to provide funds to invite an eminent scientist or engineer from the worldwide community to present two lectures to the combined Departments of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Chemical Engineering, one more universal in nature for the general public and the second more technical in nature for faculty and students. Recipients of the Reed M. Izatt Faculty Excellence in Research Award in Chemistry include: * Milton L. Lee (2008) * Paul B. Savage (2010) * Adam T. Woolley (2012) The Reed M. Izatt and James J. Christensen lecturers include: * J. Fraser Stoddart (15–16 November 2007) * Gabor A. Somorjai (21–22 January 2009) * George M. Whitesides (3–4 November 2009) * Robert Byron Bird (17–18 November 2010) * Richard N. Zare (7–8 February 2012) * Robert Langer (6–7 February 2013) *

Mario Capecchi Mario Ramberg Capecchi (born 6 October 1937) is an Italian-born molecular geneticist and a co-awardee of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering a method to create mice in which a specific gene is turned off, known as knoc ...

(23–24 January 2014) * Alexis T. Bell (19 March 2015) * R. Graham Cooks (20-21 March 2017) * Franklin Orr (19-20 October 2017) * Geraldine L. Richmond (26-27 February 2019) * Thomas F. Edgar (19-20 February 2020) * Juan J. de Pablo (16 February 2023) * Frances Ligler (12-13 March 2024) * Nicholas A. Peppas (13-14 March 2024)
Glenn Fredrickson
(6 Feb 2025)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Izatt, Reed McNeil 1926 births 2023 deaths 21st-century American chemists Brigham Young University faculty Utah State University alumni Scientists from Logan, Utah Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Carnegie Mellon University fellows People from Sumpter, Oregon Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from Oregon American Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom University of Utah alumni United States Army personnel of World War II