Robert N. Clayton
Robert N. Clayton | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | December 30, 2017 | (aged 87)
Scientific career | |
Fields | Cosmochemistry |
Institutions | University of Chicago |
Robert Norman Clayton FRS (March 20, 1930 – December 30, 2017) was a Canadian-American chemist and academic. He was the Enrico Fermi Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Chicago. Clayton studied cosmochemistry and held a joint appointment in the university's geophysical sciences department. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and was named a fellow of several academic societies, including the Royal Society.
Biography
Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Clayton grew up in a working-class family that supported (but could not pay for) his pursuit of higher education. None of Clayton's close family members had ever attended college. His high school teachers encouraged him to apply to Queen's University, and he received enough scholarship funding to attend the school. Clayton said that around half of his classmates were a decade older and had served in World War II. He said that this created a serious academic environment.[1]
After graduating from Queen's University with undergraduate and master's degrees, Clayton completed a Ph.D. in 1955 at the
Research
Clayton worked in the field of cosmochemistry and is best known for the use of the stable isotopes of oxygen to classify meteorites.[1] He was aided in his research by Toshiko Mayeda, who was a specialist technician familiar with the mass spectrometry equipment required. Their first joint research paper described the use of bromine pentafluoride to extract oxygen from rocks and minerals.[3] They developed several tests that were used across the field of meteorite and lunar sample analysis.[4][5][6]
Clayton and Mayeda studied variations in the ratio of oxygen-17 and oxygen-18 to the most abundant isotope oxygen-16, building on their surprising finding that this ratio for oxygen-17 in particular was different from that found in terrestrial rock samples.[7] They deduced that this difference was caused by the formation temperature of the meteorite and could thus be used as an "oxygen thermometer".[8] They also worked on the mass spectroscopy and chemistry of the Allende meteorite[1][9] and studied the Bocaiuva meteorite, finding that the Eagle Station meteorite was formed due to impact heating.[10] They also analysed approximately 300 lunar samples that had been collected during
Honours and awards
In 1981, he received the
On December 30, 2017, Clayton died his sleep at his home in Indiana from complications of Parkinson's disease.[4]
References
- ^ ISSN 0084-6597.
- ^ . Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ISSN 0016-7037.
- ^ a b "Robert N. Clayton, 'one of the giants' of cosmochemistry, 1930-2017". uchicago.edu. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
- ^ "In Memoriam, Bob Clayton (1930–2017)" (PDF). Elements Magazine. Retrieved 2018-08-06.
- ISSN 0012-821X.
- ISBN 9781316867396.
- ISSN 0016-7037.
- ISSN 0012-821X.
- ISSN 0026-1114.
- S2CID 201220619.
- ISSN 0026-1114.)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISSN 0016-7037.
- .
- ^ "V.M. Goldschmidt Award". Geochemical Society. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- Meteoritical Society. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "Robert N. Clayton". www.fi.edu. Franklin Institute. 2014-01-15. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- .
- ^ Durso, Thomas (May 27, 1996). "National Academy of Sciences' Class of 1996 sets new record". The Scientist. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
- ^ "J. Lawrence Smith Medal". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "Robert N. Clayton". National Science and Technology Medals Foundation. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "Solar system book dedicated to Robert Clayton, 'Mr. Oxygen'". University of Chicago News. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
Further reading
- Glenn J. MacPherson, ed. (2008). Oxygen in the Solar System. ISBN 9780939950805.