Rudolph A. Marcus

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Rudy Marcus
Prof. Dr. Rudolph A. Marcus.jpg
Rudy Marcus in 2005
Born
Rudolph Arthur Marcus

(1923-07-21) July 21, 1923 (age 95)
Montreal, Quebec
NationalityUnited States, Canadian
CitizenshipUnited States, Canada
Alma materMcGill University (BSc, PhD)
Known forElectron transfer
Spouse(s)
Laura Hearne
(m. 1949; death 2003)
Children3[citation needed]
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
Institutions
ThesisStudies on the conversion of PHX to AcAn (1946)
Doctoral advisorCarl A. Winkler
Websitewww.cce.caltech.edu/content/rudolph-rudy-marcus

Rudolph Arthur Marcus (born July 21, 1923) is a Canadian-born chemist who received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Chemistry[2] "for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems".[3] Marcus theory, named after him, provides a thermodynamic and kinetic framework for describing one electron outer-sphere electron transfer.[4][5][6] He is a professor at Caltech, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and a member of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science.

Education and early life[edit]

Marcus was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Esther (born Cohen) and Myer Marcus. His interest in the sciences began at a young age. He excelled at mathematics at Baron Byng High School. He then studied at McGill University under Dr. Carl A. Winkler,[7] who had studied under Cyril Hinshelwood at the University of Oxford. At McGill, Marcus took more math courses than an average chemistry student, which would later aid him in creating his theory on electron transfer.[8]

He earned a B.Sc. in 1943 and a Ph.D. in 1946, both from McGill University.[9] In 1958, Marcus became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Career and research[edit]

After graduating, in 1946, he first worked at the National_Research_Council_(Canada) [10] followed by [[University of North Carolina]], and Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. In 1952, at the University_of_North_Carolina, he developed Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus theory by combining RRK theory with transition state theory. In 1964, he taught at the University of Illinois.[11]

Marcus theory of electron transfer[edit]

Electron transfer is one of the simplest forms of a chemical reaction. It consists of one outer-sphere electron transfer between substances of the same atomic structure likewise to Marcus’s studies between bivalent and trivalent iron ions. Electron transfer may be one of the most basic forms of chemical reaction but without it life cannot exist. Electron transfer is used in all respiratory functions as well as photosynthesis. In the process of oxidizing food molecules, 2 hydrogen ions, 2 electrons, and an oxygen molecule react to make an exothermic reaction as well as H2O (water). Due to fact that electron transfer is such a broad, common, as well as essential reaction within nature, Marcus's theory has become vital within the field of chemistry.

2H+ + 2e− + 1/2 O2 → H2O + heat

A type of chemical reaction linked to his many studies of electron transfer would be the transfer of an electron between metal ions in different states of oxidation. An example of this type of chemical reaction would be one between a bivalent and a trivalent iron ion in an aqueous solution. In Marcus's time chemists were astonished at the slow rate in which this specific reaction took place. This attracted many chemists in the 1950s and is also what began Marcus's interests in electron transfer. Marcus made many studies based on the principles that were found within this chemical reaction, and through his studies was able to create his famous Marcus theory. This theory gave way to new experimental programs that contributed to all branches within chemistry.[12]

Honors and awards[edit]

Honorary degrees were conferred to Marcus by the University of Chicago in 1983, by the University of Goteborg in 1986, by the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1987, by McGill in 1988, by Queen's University in 1993, by the University of New Brunswick also in 1993, by the University of Oxford in 1995, by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996, by the Yokohama National University in Japan also in 1996, by the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1997, by the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in 1998, by the Technical University of Valencia (Spain) in 1999, by the Northwestern University in 2000, by the University of Waterloo in 2002, by the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) in 2010, by the Tumkur University (India) in 2012, by the University of Hyderabad (India) also in 2012, and by the University of Calgary in 2013. In addition, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Santiago, Chile in 2018.

Before receiving the Nobel Prize in 1992,[2] Marcus received the National Medal of Science in 1989,[13] the Irving Langmuir Award of the American Chemical Society in 1978,[14] the Willard Gibbs Award in 1988, the Theodore William Richards Award in 1990, the Pauling Medals in 1991, and the Remsen and Edgar Fahs Smith Awards in 1991, the Peter Debye Award of the American Chemical Society in 1988, the Robinson Award in 1982, the Centenary Medals of the Faraday Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1988, Columbia University's Chandler Medal in 1983, Ohio State's William Lloyd Evans Award in 1990, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1985 and the Hirschfelder Prize in Chemistry in 1993. Marcus has been a Member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1970, and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1973.[14] He won the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1984.[15]

He also received a Professorial Fellowship at University College, Oxford from 1975 to 1976.

He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1970, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1973, the American Philosophical Society in 1990, received honorary membership in the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1991, and in the Royal Society of Canada in 1993.[16] He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1987.[1]

External links[edit]

  • Center for Oral History. "Rudolph A. Marcus". Science History Institute.
  • Bohning, James J. (20 June 1991). Rudolph A. Marcus, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by James J. Bohning in Pasadena, California on 20 June 1991 (PDF). Philadelphia, PA: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
  • Marcus Rudolph, Nobel Luminaries Project, The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Professor Rudolph Marcus ForMemRS". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 2015-10-10.
  2. ^ a b Rudolph A. Marcus: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1992
  3. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1992". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  4. ^ Rudolph A. Marcus: autobiography
  5. ^ Rudolph A. Marcus: Nobel Lecture 1992, Electron Transfer Reactions in Chemistry: Theory and Experiment
  6. ^ Freeview video 'An Interview with Rudolph Marcus' by the Vega Science Trust
  7. ^ Bohning, James J. (20 June 1991). Rudolph A. Marcus, Transcript of an Interview Conducted by James J. Bohning in Pasadena, California on 20 June 1991 (PDF). Philadelphia, PA: Chemical Heritage Foundation.
  8. ^ "Rudolph A. Marcus - Facts". Nobelprize.org. 1923-07-21. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  9. ^ Center for Oral History. "Rudolph A. Marcus". Science History Institute.
  10. ^ (PDF) https://oh.sciencehistory.org/sites/default/files/marcus_ra_0097_suppl.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ "Rudolph A. Marcus (Canadian-American chemist) - Encyclopædia Britannica". Britannica.com. 1923-07-21. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  12. ^ "FACULTY ::: Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering ::: CALTECH". Cce.caltech.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  13. ^ "Rudolph A. Marcus". The President's National Medal of Science: Recipient Details. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Rudolph Marcus". Jewishvirtuallibrary.org. 1923-07-21. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
  15. ^ Rudolph A. Marcus Winner of Wolf Prize in Chemistry - 1984. Wolffund.org.il Retrieved November 26, 2013
  16. ^ "Rudolph A. Marcus - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
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