Dudley R. Herschbach
Dudley Robert Herschbach
Born	June 18, 1932 (1932-06-18) (age 77) San Jose, California, United States
Nationality	United States
Fields	Chemistry
Institutions	Harvard University Freiburg University Texas A&M University
Alma mater	Harvard University Stanford University
Doctoral advisor	Edgar Bright Wilson
Doctoral students	Richard N. Zare Anita Goel
Known for	Molecular dynamics
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1986)

Dudley Robert Herschbach (born June 18, 1932) is an American chemist at Harvard University. He won the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."^[1] Herschbach and Lee specifically worked with molecular beams, performing so-called "crossed molecular beam" experiments that enabled a detailed molecular-level understanding of many elementary reaction processes.

Herschbach was born in San Jose, California. After graduating from Campbell High School, Herschbach received a B.S. in mathematics in 1954 and an M.S. in chemistry in 1955 from Stanford University, and an A.M. in physics in 1956 and a Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1958 from Harvard University under the direction of Edgar Bright Wilson. His recent work includes a collaboration with Steven Brams studying approval voting.

Herschbach's research has ranged broadly over the field of chemical physics, including much theoretical work on dimensional scaling. 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."

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.

Although still an active research professor at Harvard, he joined the Texas A&M University faculty September 1, 2005 as a Professor of Physics. As of 2009, 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 is a board member of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and is the chairman of the board for Society for Science & the Public. He is also an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA).^[2][3]

Herschbach is a member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.[1]

His wife, Georgene Herschbach, is the Associate Dean of Harvard College for Undergraduate Academic Programs. She chairs Harvard College's influential Committee on Undergraduate Education.

[edit] References

Scouting portal

[edit] Publications

• 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, P. 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).

[edit] External links

• Biography and Bibliographic Resources, from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy
• Nobel biography
• Nobel Prize Winner to Join (Texas A&M) Physics Faculty
• Video of a talk by Herschbach on Linus Pauling