John Dombrowski Roberts (June 8, 1918 – October 29, 2016) was an American chemist. He made contributions to the integration of physical chemistry, spectroscopy, and organic chemistry for the understanding of chemical reaction rates. Another characteristic of Roberts' work was the early use of NMR, focusing on the concept of spin coupling.[1]
Career
Roberts received both a B.A. (1941) and Ph.D. (1944) from the University of California, Los Angeles, working under Professor William Gould Young.[2] 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 (1988–2016) in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering.[3] He is credited with bringing the first female graduate student, Dorothy Semenow, to Caltech when he moved from MIT.[4][5] He was a consultant for DuPont Central Research (1950–2008)[6] and for Oak Ridge.[3]
He published his autobiography in 1990, The Right Place at the Right Time.[7][8] Roberts died on October 29, 2016, at the age of 98 from a stroke.[9][10]
^"Interview with John D. Roberts (b. 1918)" (PDF). Caltech Oral History Project, Caltech Archives, Caltech. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
^Bell, Brian (July 29, 2013). "Caltech's John D. Roberts Awarded Gold Medal". Pasadena Now. Archived from the original on July 12, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
^"John D. Roberts (1918– )". National Science Foundation. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
^The Right Place at the Right Time. WorldCat. OCLC 21197391.
^Fleur, Nicholas St (November 6, 2016). "John D. Roberts Dies at 98; He Revolutionized the Field of Organic Chemistry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
^"John D. Roberts, 1918-2016 | Caltech". The California Institute of Technology. Retrieved November 8, 2016.
^"Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter R" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
^"National Academy of Sciences, Member Directory". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
^"APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
^"Prieslty Medal winners". American Chemical Society. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
^"John D. Roberts (1918– )". National Science Foundation. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
^"Past Seaborg Medal Recipients". Glenn T. Seaborg Medal. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
^"NAS Honors 17 For Contributions To Science". The Scientist. April 26, 1999. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
^"Nakanishi Prize". American Chemical Society. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
^"Academy Honors 18 for Major Contributions to Science". News from the National Academies. January 28, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
^""Useful Knowledge about Magnetic Resonance Imaging," Dr. John D. Roberts (video and transcript)". Special Collections and Archives, Oregon State University. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
^"Contributors to the Chemical Enterprise: C&EN's Top 75". Chemical & Engineering News. January 12, 1998. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
Sources
Roberts, John D. "ABCs of FT-NMR." University Science Books, Sausalito, California, 2000.
"JDR." Engineering & Science 1980, 44(2), p. 10.
Books
Roberts, John D.; Caserio, Marjorie C. (1977). Basic Principles of Organic Chemistry (2nd ed.). W. A. Benjamin. ISBN 978-0805383294. (Alternate link to official Caltech repository for book)
Roberts, John D. (1961). An Introduction to the Analysis of Spin-Spin Splitting in High-Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectra. W. A. Benjamin.
Roberts, John D. (1961). Notes on Molecular Orbital Calculations. W. A. Benjamin. ISBN 978-0805383010.
Roberts, John D. (1959). Nuclear Magnetic Resonance : Applications to Organic Chemistry. McGraw-Hill Book Company. ISBN 9781258811662.
Roberts, John D.; Stewart, Ross; Caserio, Marjorie C. (1971). Organic Chemistry: Methane to Macromolecules. W. A. Benjamin. ISBN 978-0805383324. (Alternate link to official Caltech repository for book)
Mangravite, Andrew. Finding Aid to the papers of John D. Roberts, 1940-1992 (bulk 1960-2000). Retrieved February 19, 2018. Click on 'Papers of John D. Roberts Finding Aid (2013)' to go to full document.{{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)