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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as Subject

Dudley R. Herschbach

Photo

Dates

June 18, 1932 – present

Authorized Form of Name

Herschbach, Dudley R.

Additional Forms of Names

Herschbach, D. R. (Dudley R.)

Herschbach, Dudley R., 1932-

Biography

Abstract

Dudley R. Herschbach is a Professor of Physical Chemistry at Harvard University. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics along with Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."

Important Dates

June 18, 1932Birth, San Jose (Calif.).

1954Obtained BS in Mathematics, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1955Obtained Masters in Chemistry, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1956Obtained AM in Physics, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1957 – 1959Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows, Harvard University.

1958Obtained PhD in Chemical Physics, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).

1959 – 1963Assistant Professor of Chemistry (1959-1951) and Associate Professor (1961-1963), University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley (Calif.).

1963 – 2017Professor of Chemistry (1963-1976); Chairman, Chemical Physics program (1964-1977); Chairman, Chemistry Department (1977-1980); Co-Master, Currier House Chemistry Department (1981-1986); Baird Professor of Science (1976-2003); and Professor Emeritus (2003-present), Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1964Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1965Awarded Pure Chemistry Prize, American Chemical Society.

1967Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1978Awarded Linus Pauling Medal.

1981Awarded Michael Polanyi Medal.

1983Awarded Irving Langmuir Prize, American Physical Society.

1986Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes".

1991Awarded National Medal of Science.

1992Awarded Jaroslav Heyrovsky Medal.

1993Awarded Sierra Nevada Distinguished Chemist Award.

1994Awarded Kosolapoff Award.

1994Awarded William Walker Prize.

2005 – 2017Professor of Chemical Physics, Texas A&M University, College Station (Tex.).

Occupation

Chemical kinetics and physical chemist.

Places

Birth

San Jose (Calif.)

Undergraduate Education

Stanford (Calif.)

Graduate Education

Stanford (Calif.)

Employment

Berkeley (Calif.)

Cambridge (Mass.)

College Station (Tex.)

Subjects

Chemical kinetics.

Physical chemistry.

Relationships

People

Family

Herschbach, Dorothy

Mother.

Herschbach, Georgene Botyos

Wife.

Herschbach, Robert

Father.

Advisors & Collaborators

Anderson, R. G. W. (Robert Geoffrey William)

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Gupta, Manish

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Krenos, John

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Lee, Yuan Tseh, 1936-

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University. Shared 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Herschbach and Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."

LeSar, R. (Richard), 1953-

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Mazziotti, David A.

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Neumark, Daniel Milton

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Polanyi, J. C., 1929-

Shared 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Herschbach and Lee "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."

Stwalley, William C., 1942-

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Wilson, E. Bright (Edgar Bright), 1908-

PhD advisor at Harvard University.

Wilson, Kent R.

Advised by Herschbach at University of California, Berkeley.

Zare, Richard N.

Advised by Herschbach at Harvard University.

Colleagues

Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982

Both employed at Harvard University.

Additional

Avery, John, 1933-

Goscinski, Osvaldo

Stern, Otto, 1888-1969

Institutions

Major Positions

Harvard University. Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology

Junior Fellow, Society of Fellows; Professor of Chemistry; Chairman, Chemical Physics program; Chairman, Chemistry Department; Co-Master Currier House; Baird Professor of Science; and Professor Emeritus.

Texas A & M University. Department of Chemistry

Professor of Chemistry.

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Chemistry

Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Associate Professor.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Chemical Society

Awarded 1965 Pure Chemistry Prize.

American Physical Society

Awarded 1983 Irving Langmuir Prize.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Stanford University. Department of Chemistry

Obtained Masters in Chemistry (1955).

Stanford University. Department of Mathematics

Obtained BS in Mathematics (1954).

Stanford University. Department of Physics

Obtained AM in Physics (1956) and PhD in Chemical Physics (1958).

University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Oral history interview with Dudley Herschbach, 2003 May 21 and 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Files of Wlodzimierz Kolos.

Archiwum (Warszawa)

Polska Akademia Nauk

Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warsaw, Poland

Published Resources

Author

Dimensional scaling in chemical physics/ edited by Dudley R. Herschbach, John Avery, and Osvaldo Goscinski.

Subject

Dudley R. Herschbach Nobel Prize Biography