Ronald A. Hites was an American chemist, currently a distinguished professor at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, and also a published author. He is a Fellow of 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 ...

and 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 ...

and also founded the ''

Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry The ''Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by ACS Publications since 2020. From 2011 to 2019 it was published by Springer Science+Business Media and prior to that by Elsevie ...

''. Ronald Hites was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus; Director, Hites Laboratory. his expertise included applying organic analytical chemistry techniques to the analysis of trace levels of toxic pollutants, especially polybrominated flame retardants and polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides. Education Ph.D., Analytical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1968 B.A., Chemistry, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, 1964 Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ronald Hites was an environmental chemist specializing in the behavior of potentially toxic organic compounds. He had been with O'Neill since 1979, following 15 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received his doctorate in analytical chemistry. Prof. Hites published six books, nearlyto 500 scientific papers, and supervised about 90 post-doctoral associates and graduate students. Recent work involved the use of mass spectrometry to analyze trace levels of potentially toxic chemicals in the Great Lakes basin, including discontinued and alternative flame retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. He also studied the atmospheric transport of these chemicals throughout the environment. Prof. Hites was a Fellow of the American Chemical Society, the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He received the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Great Lakes Research, the 1993 Founders Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry and the 1991 Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science and Technology from the American Chemical Society. Between 1990-2018, he was an associate editor of Environmental Science and Technology. In 1988, Hites spearheaded the creation of the Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry while serving as president of that society. The Ron Hites Award is now given annually the best paper in that journal. Ronald Hites passed away on January 5, 2024.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Indiana University faculty 21st-century American chemists {{US-chemist-stub Celebrating Ronald A. Hites, “a Simple Country Chemist”. Ronald A. Hites, 1942–2024 Marta Venier Environmental Science & Technology 2024 58 (11), 4837-4839 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c01779