George Andrew Olah

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The native form of this personal name is Oláh András György. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
George Andrew Olah
superacids
Spouse
Judit Lengyel
​
(m. 1949)​
Children2
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
Institutions

George Andrew Olah (born Oláh András György; May 22, 1927 – March 8, 2017) was a Hungarian-American

superacids. For this research, Olah was awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1994 "for his contribution to carbocation chemistry."[3] He was also awarded the Priestley Medal, the highest honor granted by the American Chemical Society and F.A. Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research of the American Chemical Society in 1996.[4][5][6]

After the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he emigrated to the United Kingdom, which he left for Canada in 1964, finally resettling in the United States in 1965. According to György Marx, he was one of The Martians.[7]

Early life and education

Olah was born in Budapest, Hungary, on May 22, 1927, into a Jewish couple, Magda (Krasznai) and Gyula Oláh, a lawyer.[8][9] After the high school of Budapesti Piarist Gimnazium,[10] he studied under organic chemist Géza Zemplén at the Technical University of Budapest, now the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, where he earned M.S. and Ph.D degrees in chemical engineering.[11] From 1949 through 1954, he taught at the school as a professor of organic chemistry.[12] In the subsequent two years, from 1954 to 1956, he worked at the research institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, where he was associate scientific director and head of the department of organic chemistry.[12]

Career and research

As a result of the

naturalized citizen of the United States.[11] He then moved to the University of Southern California in 1977.[11]

At USC, Olah was a distinguished professor and the director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute.[14] Starting in 1980, he served as the Distinguished Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of Chemistry and later became a distinguished professor in USC's school of engineering.

superacids, like FSO3H-SbF5 ("Magic Acid
").

CH4 + H+ → CH5+

Because these cations were able to be stabilized, scientists could now use infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study them in greater depth, as well as use them as catalysts in organic synthesis reactions.[16]

Olah, with Canadian chemist

nonclassical" carbocations – such as the norbornyl cation, which can be depicted as cationic character delocalized over several bonds.[17] Olah's studies of the cation with NMR spectroscopy provided more evidence suggesting that Winstein's model of the non-classical cation, "featuring a pair of [delocalized] electrons smeared between three carbon atoms," was correct.[18]

In 1997, the Olah family formed an endowment fund (the George A. Olah Endowment) which grants annual awards to outstanding chemists, including the George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry, formerly known as the ACS Award in Petroleum Chemistry. The awards are selected and administered by the American Chemical Society.[19]

Later in his career, his research shifted from hydrocarbons and their transformation into fuel to the methanol economy, namely generating methanol from methane.[20] He joined with Robert Zubrin, Anne Korin, and James Woolsey in promoting a flexible-fuel mandate initiative.[21][22][23] In 2005, Olah wrote an essay promoting the methanol economy in which he suggested that methanol could be produced from hydrogen gas (H2) and industrially derived or atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), using energy from renewable sources to power the production process.[24]

Personal life

He married Judit Ágnes Lengyel (Judith Agnes Lengyel) in 1949, and they had two children, György (George), born in Hungary in 1954, and Ronald, born in the U.S. in 1959.

Beverly Hills, California.[25][26] After his death, the Hungarian government said that the "country has lost a great patriot and one of the most outstanding figures of Hungarian scientific life."[25]

Awards and honours

Olah in 2010

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Professor George Olah ForMemRS Foreign Member". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015.
  2. ^ "George A. Olah – A Superstar of Science". Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1994". The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
  4. ISBN 978-0-471-15743-4
    .
  5. ^ "Exploring the Methanol Economy". NPR. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  6. ^ My Search for Carbocations and Their Role in Chemistry Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1994, by George A. Olah
  7. ^ A marslakók legendája Archived 2022-04-09 at the Wayback Machine – György Marx
  8. ^ GEORGE OLÁH, NOBEL PRIZE WINNING HUNGARIAN-AMERICAN CHEMIST, DIES AT 89 Archived March 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Hungary Today, March 9, 2017
  9. ^ "George A. Olah – Biographical". Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  10. ISBN 9780615573106
    , retrieved 6 June 2023
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-118-84010-8
    .
  12. ^ a b c d e f "1991 George Olah, USC". Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society. 1992. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  13. ^ George A. Olah (1965). Friedel-Crafts and Related Reactions. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
  14. ^ "Department of Chemistry". Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  15. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1994". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
  16. ^ Stoye, Emma (March 10, 2017). "Chemistry Nobel laureate George Olah dies aged 89". Chemistry World. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "The Non-classical Cation: A Classic Case of Conflict". UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry. July 11, 2013. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  18. ^ Peplow, Mark (July 10, 2013). "The nonclassical cation: a classic case of conflict". Chemistry World. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  19. ^ "George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry", Chemical & Engineering News, January 19, 2009, p. 74
  20. ^ "Nobel Prize winner of 1994 George Andrew Olah dies at 89". Chem Europe. March 10, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  21. ^ Olah, G. "Superacid Catalyzed Depolymerization and Conversion of Coals. Final Technical Report. [HF:BF{sub 2}/H{sub 2}]", University of Southern California, United States Department of Energy, (1980).
  22. ^ Olah, G. A. "Superacid Catalyzed Coal Conversion Chemistry. 1st and 2nd Quarterly Technical Progress Reports, September 1, 1983 – March 30, 1984.", University of Southern California, United States Department of Energy, (1984).
  23. ^ Olah, G. A. "Superacid Catalyzed Coal Conversion Chemistry. Final Technical Report, September 1, 1983 – September 1, 1986.", University of Southern California, United States Department of Energy, (1986).
  24. PMID 15800867
    .
  25. ^ a b Rogers, John (March 9, 2017). "George A. Olah, who won Nobel Prize in chemistry, dies at 89". ABC. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  26. ^ "Hungarian-American Nobel winner George A. Olah dies aged 89". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 9, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  27. ^ "Chemical Pioneer Award". American Institute of Chemists. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  28. ^ "F.A. Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research- PREVIOUS RECIPIENTS". American Chemical Society. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  29. American Academy of Achievement
    .
  30. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-07-13.

External links

  • George Andrew Olah on Nobelprize.org Edit this at Wikidata including the Nobel Lecture, December 8, 1994 My Search for Carbocations and Their Role in Chemistry
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