Dudley R. Herschbach

Dudley Robert Herschbach (born June 18, 1932) is an American chemist at

Herschbach was born in San Jose, California on June 18, 1932. The eldest of six children, he grew up in a rural area. He graduated from Campbell High School, where he played football. Offered both athletic and academic scholarships to Stanford University, Herschbach chose the academic. His freshman advisor, Harold S. Johnston, hired him as a summer research assistant, and taught him chemical kinetics in his senior year. His master's research involved calculating Arrhenius A-factors for gas-phase reactions.^[2] Herschbach received a B.S. in mathematics in 1954 and an M.S. in chemistry in 1955 from Stanford University.^[3]

Herschbach then attended Harvard University, where he earned an A.M. in physics in 1956 and a Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1958 under the direction of Edgar Bright Wilson. At Harvard, Herschbach examined tunnel splitting in molecules, using microwave spectroscopy.^[2] He was awarded a three-year Junior Fellowship in the Society of Fellows at Harvard, lasting from 1957 to 1959.^[4]

Research

In 1959, Herschbach joined the

In 1963, Herschbach returned to Harvard University as a professor of chemistry. There he continued his work on molecular-beam reactive dynamics, working with graduate students Sanford Safron and Walter Miller on the reactions of alkali atoms with alkali halides. In 1967, Yuan T. Lee joined the lab as a postdoctoral student, and Herschbach, Lee, and graduate students Doug MacDonald and Pierre LeBreton began to construct a "supermachine" for studying collisions such as Cl + Br₂ and hydrogen and halogen reactions.^[2]

His most acclaimed work, for which he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986 with

Hershbach's teaching ranges from graduate seminars on chemical kinetics to an introductory undergraduate course in general chemistry that he taught for many years at Harvard, and described as his "most challenging assignment".^[3][9]

Herschbach has been a strong proponent of science education and science among the general public, and frequently gives lectures to students of all ages, imbuing them with his infectious enthusiasm for science and his playful spirit of discovery. Herschbach has also lent his voice to the animated television show The Simpsons for the episode "Treehouse of Horror XIV", where he is seen presenting the Nobel Prize in Physics to Professor Frink.^[10]

In October 2010, Herschbach participated in the

Although still an active research professor at Harvard, he joined the Texas A&M University faculty September 1, 2005, as a professor of physics, teaching one semester per year in the chemical physics program.^[14] As of 2010, he holds the title of professor emeritus at Harvard and remains well known for his involvement as a lecturer and mentor in the Harvard research community. He and his wife Georgene Herschbach also served for several years as the co-Masters of Currier House, where they were highly involved in undergraduate life in addition to their full-time duties.^[2][4]

Public service

He is a board member of the

Herschbach's wife, Georgene Herschbach, served as the Associate Dean of Harvard College for Undergraduate Academic Programs.[19] Prior to retirement in 2009, she chaired Harvard College's influential Committee on Undergraduate Education.^[20]

Awards and honors

Herschbach is a Fellow of the

• Herschbach, D. R. & V. W. Laurie. "Anharmonic Potential Constants and Their Dependence Upon Bond Length", University of California, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission) (January 1961).
• Herschbach, D. R. "Reactive Collisions in Crossed Molecular Beams", University of California, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission) (February 1962).
• Laurie, V. W. & D. R. Herschbach. "The Determination of Molecular Structure from Rotational Spectra", Stanford University, University of California, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission) (July 1962).
• Zare, R. N. & D. R. Herschbach. "Proposed Molecular Beam Determination of Energy Partition in the Photodissociation of Polyatomic Molecules", University of California, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley, United States Department of Energy (through predecessor agency the Atomic Energy Commission) (January 29, 1964).

References