Making Physical Chemistry Relevant with Modern Chemical Dynamics

Benton Seymour Rabinovitch was one of the pioneers of chemical dynamics. His brilliant experiments performed during his four decades as a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Washington in Seattle provided most of our early quantitative measurements of the efficiency with which energy is transferred between molecules in gas-phase molecule–molecule collisions and in collisions of molecules with solid surfaces. More importantly, his work provided quantitative estimates of the rates with which vibrational energy deposited locally within a molecule is redistributed among the many vibrational modes within that molecule, proving that the equilibration of this vibrational energy among these modes almost always occurs in approximately one picosecond. He further showed that this validates (in most cases) the assumptions of Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (RRKM) theory. He also developed several widely used mathematical shortcuts for using RRKM theory to make important predictions about physical chemistry. These shortcuts greatly increased both the applications and impact of RRKM theory, so that it has become one of the most important theories of physical chemistry. It continues to guide much of our fundamental understanding of chemical dynamics and reaction kinetics even today. In addition to being a great scientist, Seymour Rabinovitch was a devoted husband and father. He raised four accomplished children, and later in life became an expert in the art of silversmithing, a writer of children's books, and a philanthropist. His offspring are following beautifully in his footsteps in their kindness to fellow human beings, their excellence in scholarship, science and art, and in their energetic dedication to improving the world through teaching, research, service and philanthropy. The same can be said for his academic offspring as well.

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Scientific activity of Ya.K. Syrkin at the Faculty of Chemistry of the IvanovoVoznesensk Polytechnic Institute and in the Ivanovo Institute of Chemistry and Technology (1918–1932)

Тонкие химические технологии ◽

10.32362/2410-6593-2020-15-4-71-81 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 73-81

Author(s):

A. S. Malyasova ◽

O. I. Koifman

Keyword(s):

Physical Chemistry ◽

Young Scientist ◽

Scientific Activity ◽

Polytechnic Institute ◽

Colloidal Systems ◽

Solution Theory ◽

Scientific Schools ◽

Modern Chemical ◽

Scientific Achievements ◽

Comprehensive Study

Objectives. Preserving the continuity of scientific schools and increasing scientific motivation is critical for educating new generations of researchers. One way to solve this problem is to promote the historically significant achievements of outstanding scientists working in the field, without which the foundations of modern chemical technologies cannot be imagined. The field of physical chemistry benefited immensely from the contributions made by Professor Yakov Kivovich Syrkin. This article is devoted to the analysis of the growth of Ya.K. Syrkin as a scientist and discusses his main scientific contributions to physical and quantum chemistry. Methods. The article was prepared using archival materials, bibliographic references, original texts of articles, and scientific reports. Results. The article details and documents the main scientific achievements of Ya.K. Syrkin during his work at the Ivanovo-Voznesensk Polytechnic Institute and the Ivanovo Institute of Chemistry and Technology between 1918 and 1932, showing his growth and development as a young scientist through his interactions with teachers and colleagues. Syrkin’s research on chemical equilibrium, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, catalysis, solution theory, solvate effects, and colloidal systems are presented herein. Conclusions. A retrospective analysis of the career of Ya.K. Syrkin shows the scope of his research interests and his ability to build on the foundations provided by great predecessors such as Gibbs, Van’t Hoff, Arrhenius, Ostwald, and Nernst. A comprehensive study of fundamental and applied aspects of physical chemistry guided Syrkin’s approach to understanding the importance of molecular structure and the nature of chemical bonds in all observed chemical phenomena.

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