Anthony Turkevich

Biography

Abstract

Anthony Turkevich was James Franck Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago (1971-1986). He also worked on the Manhattan Project at the Columbia SAM Laboratories, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and Los Alamos Laboratory. Turkevich studied the physical and chemical composition of the universe, in which his research ranged from observing the fundamental properties of matter with particle accelerators to identifying the chemical composition of meteorites, the lunar surface and the planets.

Important Dates

July 23, 1916Birth, New York (N.Y.).

1937Obtained BA, Dartmouth College, Hanover (N.H.).

1940Obtained PhD in Physical Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton (N.J.).

1940 – 1941Research Associate in Physics, University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1942 – 1943Research Chemist, Manhattan Project, Columbia Special Alloyed Materials (SAM) Laboratories.

1943 – 1945Researcher, Manhattan Project, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory.

1945 – 1946Research Physicist, Manhattan Project, Los Alamos Laboratory.

1946 – 2002Assistant Professor of Chemistry (1946-1948); Associate Professor of Chemistry (1948-1954); Professor of Chemistry (1954-1965); James Franck Professor of Chemistry (1965-1971); James Franck Distinguished Service Professor (1971-1986); and Emeritus Professor of Chemistry (1986-2002), University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1961 – 1962National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow, European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

1967Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1970National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow, University of Paris, Orsay.

September 7, 2002Death, Lexington (Va.).

Occupation

Nuclear chemist.

Places

Birth

New York (N.Y.)

Undergraduate Education

Hanover (N.H.)

Graduate Education

Princeton (N.J.)

Employment

Chicago (Ill.)

Death

Lexington (Va.)

Subjects

Chemistry.

Molecular spectroscopy.

Nuclear physics.

Radiochemistry.

Relationships

People

Family

Carney, Darya

Daughter.

Leontiĭ, Metropolitan of All America and Canada, 1876-1965

Father.

Turkevich, Ireene

Wife. Married in 1948.

Turkevich, John

Brother.

Turkevich, Leonid

Son.

Turkevich, Nicolas

Brother.

Advisors & Collaborators

Beach, John Youngs

PhD advisor at Princeton University, "Molecular structure and molecular rotation."

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

Research advisor at University of Chicago, Manhattan Project.

Mulliken, Robert Sanderson

Post-doctorate advisor at University of Chicago, and both employed at University of Chicago.

Smyth, Charles Phelps, 1895-1990

Research advisor at University of Chicago, Manhattan Project.

Colleagues

Agnew, Harold M.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Allison, Samuel King, 1900-1965

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project, University of Chicago and Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Alvarez, Luis W., 1911-1988

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Anderson, Herbert Lawrence

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Barschall, H. H. (Henry Herman), 1915-1997

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Bederson, Benjamin

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Case, Kenneth M.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Chamberlain, O. (Owen)

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Christy, Robert F.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962

Both employed at University of Chicago and Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Corson, Dale R.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Creutz, E.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Crewe, Albert V.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Daniels, Farrington, 1889-1972

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Dempster, Arthur Jeffrey

Both employed at University of Chicago and at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Deutsch, Martin, 1917-2002

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Duffield, Robert B.

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Eckart, Carl, 1902-1973

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Ference, Michael, 1911-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Fitch, Val L., 1923-2015

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Franck, James, 1882-1964

Both employed at University of Chicago and at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Glauber, Roy J., 1925-

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Hilberry, Norman, 1899-

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Lee, Yuan Tseh, 1936-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Marshak, Robert E. (Robert Eugene), 1916-1992

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Massey, Walter E.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Mayer, Joseph Edward, 1904-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Mayer, Maria Goeppert, 1906-1972

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

McDaniel, Boyce D. (Boyce Dawkins), 1917-

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Morrison, Philip

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Rieser, Leonard M.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Simpson, John A. (John Alexander), 1916-2000

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Szilard, Leo

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Weinberg, Alvin Martin, 1915-2006

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both employed at Los Alamos Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Institutions

Major Positions

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory

Research Physicist, Manhattan Project.

Manhattan Project (U.S.)

Research Chemist, Columbia SAM Laboratories; Researcher, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory; and Research Physicist, Los Alamos Laboratory.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Metallurgical Laboratory

Researcher, Manhattan Project.

University of Chicago. Department of Chemistry

Assistant Professor of Chemistry; Associate Professor of Chemistry; Professor of Chemistry; James Franck Professor of Chemistry; James Franck Distinguished Service Professor of Chemistry; and Emeritus Professor of Chemistry.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Research Associate in Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Dartmouth College

Obtained BA in Chemistry (1937).

European Organization for Nuclear Research

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Princeton University. Department of Chemistry

Obtained PhD in Physical Chemistry (1940).

Université de Paris

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow.

Resources

Published Resources

Subject

"Anthony Leonid Turkevich: 1916-2002", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Anthony Turkevich Physics Today obituary.