Robert Culbertson West Jr. (March 18, 1928 – October 12, 2022) was an American chemist. West was an E. G. Rochow Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

; Director of the Organosilicon Research Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison 1999–20??; President, Silatronix, Inc. (2007–20??); Distinguished Professor,

Yonsei University Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

, 2007–2011. He died in Madison, Wisconsin on October 12, 2022, at the age of 94.

Education

West received his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

in 1950, proceeding on to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he received his Master of Arts in 1952 and Ph.D. in 1954. At Cornell, he was a member of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University, founded in 1893. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated that election into Quill and Dagger and similar societies constituted "the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of unde ...

society.

Notable work

West was a chemist best known for his groundbreaking research in

silicon Silicon is a chemical element; it has symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic lustre, and is a tetravalent metalloid (sometimes considered a non-metal) and semiconductor. It is a membe ...

chemistry as well as for his work with oxocarbons and

organolithium compound In organometallic chemistry, organolithium reagents are chemical compounds that contain carbon–lithium (C–Li) bonds. These reagents are important in organic synthesis, and are frequently used to transfer the organic group or the lithium atom ...

s. In 2004, West was listed as one of the most cited scientists during the period 1981-1999, according to a citation survey by Thomson ISI. West's most well-known discovery was the synthesis of the first ever silicon-silicon double bond in 1981, a feat which broke the so-called "double-bond rule" (which stated that main group elements below row two of the periodic table could not form double bonds). West later discovered the first example of a stable

silylene Silylene is a chemical compound with the formula SiR2. It is the silicon analog of carbene. Silylene rapidly when condensed. Silylenes are formal derivatives of silylene with its hydrogens replaced by other substituents. Most examples feature ...

, a form of divalent silicon, acting as the silicon analog to the now catalytically important

carbene In organic chemistry, a carbene is a molecule containing a neutral carbon atom with a Valence (chemistry), valence of two and two unshared valence electrons. The general formula is or where the R represents substituents or hydrogen atoms. Th ...

. West also developed a new model for understanding rotations in

polymers A polymer () is a substance or material that consists of very large molecules, or macromolecules, that are constituted by many repeating subunits derived from one or more species of monomers. Due to their broad spectrum of properties, b ...

. West's numerous other discoveries include a siloxane-based

electrolyte An electrolyte is a substance that conducts electricity through the movement of ions, but not through the movement of electrons. This includes most soluble Salt (chemistry), salts, acids, and Base (chemistry), bases, dissolved in a polar solven ...

which has made possible revolutionary rechargeable implantable batteries for biomedical applications including the treatment of spinal injuries and nerve damage. His later interests included the synthesis of silicon-containing anticancer drugs, and the study of silicon and germanium compounds by

muon A muon ( ; from the Greek letter mu (μ) used to represent it) is an elementary particle similar to the electron, with an electric charge of −1 '' e'' and a spin of ''ħ'', but with a much greater mass. It is classified as a ...

resonance spectroscopy.

Other interests

West was an instrument-rated pilot with over 2500 hours as pilot-in-command. He was a

mountaineer Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become sports ...

, with over 50 first ascents in the mountains of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He was known for his eccentric lifestyle, liberal political views, and activism for women's reproductive rights both in the US and internationally. In 1972, along with Anne Nicol Gaylor, he co-founded the Women's Medical Fund to help

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

women pay for

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

s. His international interests led to extensive collaborative research with chemistry departments in major universities in countries including Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway and Russia. Many of his over 600 publications were in collaboration with scientists in countries outside the USA.

References

External links

University of Wisconsin faculty biography

New battery technology helps stimulate nerves
University of Wisconsin news
A tribute to professor Robert West, on the occasion of his 90th birthday
Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements {{DEFAULTSORT:West, Robert 1928 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American chemists Cornell University alumni Harvard University alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey American abortion-rights activists American founders