Herbert S. Gutowsky
Encyclopedia
Herbert S. Gutowsky was an American
chemist
who was a Professor of Chemistry
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
. His pioneering work made nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy one of the most effective tools in chemical and medical research.
. He was the son of Otto and Hattie Meyer Gutowsky. He claimed that his childhood experiences taught him the importance of hard work, which carried over to his scientific life. He was a quiet, kind and thoughtful man who focused on science and who worked very closely with all his research associates. He was also an avid bicyclist in his early life, and also bird-watcher who later became very interested in growing roses in his own garden.
Gutowsky received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University
in 1940, and after a four-year interruption for military service, he was awarded a master's degree from UC-Berkeley in 1946. Gutowsky earned his Ph.D. in chemistry
from Harvard University
under George Kistiakowsky
.
in 1948. He became a full professor in 1956. His research interests as a young faculty member included molecular and solid-state
structure by infrared
(IR) and radio frequency
spectroscopy, including both nuclear magnetic resonance
and electron paramagnetic resonance
.
method to chemical research. His experimental and theoretical work on the chemical shift
effect and its relation to molecular structure has provided the chemist with working tools to study molecular conformation and molecular interactions in solutions. Gutowsky's pioneering work on the spin-spin coupling effect developed this phenomenon into a 'finger print' method for the identification and characterization of organic compounds. He was also the first to observe the effect of dynamic processes on the lineshape of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and exploited it for the studies of hindered rotation in molecules, Simultaneously with others he discovered the effect of the scalar and dipolar interaction with unpaired electrons in solutions of paramagnetic ions.
He was awarded the Wolf Prize in Chemistry
in 1983/84 for "his pioneering work in the development and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in chemistry". More specifically, the latter prize committee cited explicitly his truly outstanding physical chemistry research results as follows:
"Professor Herbert S. Gutowsky was the first to apply the nuclear magnetic resonance method to chemical research. His experimental and theoretical work on the chemical shift
effect and its relation to molecular structure has provided the chemist with working tools to study molecular conformation and molecular interactions in solutions. Gutowsky's pioneering work on the spin-spin coupling effect developed this phenomenon into a 'finger print' method for the identification and characterization of organic compounds. He was also the first to observe the effect of dynamic processes on the lineshape of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and exploited it for the studies of hindered rotation in molecules, Simultaneously with others he discovered the effect of the scalar
and dipole-dipole interaction with unpaired electrons in solutions of paramagnetic ions."
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
in 1967, and in 1970 he oversaw the creation of the School of Chemical Sciences, which included the departments of chemistry
and chemical engineering
. He served as Director of the School of Chemical Sciences from 1970 to 1983.
During 1976—1986 he published in collaboration with a photosynthesis
research group in the Biophysics
Department the results of a series of NMR
, fluorescence
, pulsed light/oxygen evolution studies of biomembranes-- including photosynthetic plant membranes/thylakoids and living, green algae
--investigating the complex physico-chemical mechanisms of photosynthesis
involving Mn+2, Mn+3, Cl- and Br-
ion
ic effects in photosynthetic oxygen evolution
and photosynthetic water oxidation by photosytem II (PS-II)
in the oxygen evolving complex
(OEC).
After 1983 he focused on teaching and research, moving into a `third research career' in Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy
studies of small, weakly bonded molecules in the gas phase. He died on January 13, 2000 in Urbana.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
who was a Professor of Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
. His pioneering work made nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy one of the most effective tools in chemical and medical research.
Birth and education
Herbert S. Gutowsky was born on November 8, 1919, on a produce farm in Bridgman, MichiganBridgman, Michigan
Bridgman is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,428 at the 2000 census. The Bridgman post office, with ZIP code 49106 opened with the name "Laketon" on November 11, 1862. The name changed to Bridgman on April 9, 1874...
. He was the son of Otto and Hattie Meyer Gutowsky. He claimed that his childhood experiences taught him the importance of hard work, which carried over to his scientific life. He was a quiet, kind and thoughtful man who focused on science and who worked very closely with all his research associates. He was also an avid bicyclist in his early life, and also bird-watcher who later became very interested in growing roses in his own garden.
Gutowsky received a bachelor's degree from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
in 1940, and after a four-year interruption for military service, he was awarded a master's degree from UC-Berkeley in 1946. Gutowsky earned his Ph.D. in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
under George Kistiakowsky
George Kistiakowsky
George Bogdan Kistiakowsky was a Ukrainian-American chemistry professor at Harvard who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Eisenhower's Science Advisor...
.
Academic career
He joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1948. He became a full professor in 1956. His research interests as a young faculty member included molecular and solid-state
Solid-state physics
Solid-state physics is the study of rigid matter, or solids, through methods such as quantum mechanics, crystallography, electromagnetism, and metallurgy. It is the largest branch of condensed matter physics. Solid-state physics studies how the large-scale properties of solid materials result from...
structure by infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
(IR) and radio frequency
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
spectroscopy, including both nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
and electron paramagnetic resonance
Electron paramagnetic resonance
Electron paramagnetic resonance or electron spin resonance spectroscopyis a technique for studying chemical species that have one or more unpaired electrons, such as organic and inorganic free radicals or inorganic complexes possessing a transition metal ion...
.
Research on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Herbert S. Gutowsky was the first to apply the nuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonance
Nuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
method to chemical research. His experimental and theoretical work on the chemical shift
Chemical shift
In nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the chemical shift is the resonant frequency of a nucleus relative to a standard. Often the position and number of chemical shifts are diagnostic of the structure of a molecule...
effect and its relation to molecular structure has provided the chemist with working tools to study molecular conformation and molecular interactions in solutions. Gutowsky's pioneering work on the spin-spin coupling effect developed this phenomenon into a 'finger print' method for the identification and characterization of organic compounds. He was also the first to observe the effect of dynamic processes on the lineshape of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and exploited it for the studies of hindered rotation in molecules, Simultaneously with others he discovered the effect of the scalar and dipolar interaction with unpaired electrons in solutions of paramagnetic ions.
He was awarded the Wolf Prize in Chemistry
Wolf Prize in Chemistry
The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts.-Laureates:...
in 1983/84 for "his pioneering work in the development and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in chemistry". More specifically, the latter prize committee cited explicitly his truly outstanding physical chemistry research results as follows:
"Professor Herbert S. Gutowsky was the first to apply the nuclear magnetic resonance method to chemical research. His experimental and theoretical work on the chemical shift
Chemical shift
In nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the chemical shift is the resonant frequency of a nucleus relative to a standard. Often the position and number of chemical shifts are diagnostic of the structure of a molecule...
effect and its relation to molecular structure has provided the chemist with working tools to study molecular conformation and molecular interactions in solutions. Gutowsky's pioneering work on the spin-spin coupling effect developed this phenomenon into a 'finger print' method for the identification and characterization of organic compounds. He was also the first to observe the effect of dynamic processes on the lineshape of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, and exploited it for the studies of hindered rotation in molecules, Simultaneously with others he discovered the effect of the scalar
Scalar (physics)
In physics, a scalar is a simple physical quantity that is not changed by coordinate system rotations or translations , or by Lorentz transformations or space-time translations . This is in contrast to a vector...
and dipole-dipole interaction with unpaired electrons in solutions of paramagnetic ions."
Later years
He became head of the Department of ChemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
in 1967, and in 1970 he oversaw the creation of the School of Chemical Sciences, which included the departments of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and chemical engineering
Chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is the branch of engineering that deals with physical science , and life sciences with mathematics and economics, to the process of converting raw materials or chemicals into more useful or valuable forms...
. He served as Director of the School of Chemical Sciences from 1970 to 1983.
During 1976—1986 he published in collaboration with a photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
research group in the Biophysics
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
Department the results of a series of NMR
NMR
NMR may refer to:Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance:* Nuclear magnetic resonance* NMR spectroscopy* Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance* Protein nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy* Proton NMR* Carbon-13 NMR...
, fluorescence
Fluorescence
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation of a different wavelength. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation...
, pulsed light/oxygen evolution studies of biomembranes-- including photosynthetic plant membranes/thylakoids and living, green algae
Green algae
The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes emerged. As such, they form a paraphyletic group, although the group including both green algae and embryophytes is monophyletic...
--investigating the complex physico-chemical mechanisms of photosynthesis
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a chemical process that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight. Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of bacteria, but not in archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, since they can...
involving Mn+2, Mn+3, Cl- and Br-
ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
ic effects in photosynthetic oxygen evolution
Oxygen evolution
Oxygen evolution is the process of generating molecular oxygen through chemical reaction. Mechanisms of oxygen evolution include the oxidation of water during oxygenic photosynthesis, electrolysis of water into oxygen and hydrogen, and electrocatalytic oxygen evolution from oxides and...
and photosynthetic water oxidation by photosytem II (PS-II)
in the oxygen evolving complex
Oxygen evolving complex
The oxygen-evolving complex, also known as the water-splitting complex, is a water-oxidizing enzyme involved in the photooxidation of water during the light reactions of photosynthesis. Based on a widely accepted theory from 1970 by Kok, the complex can exist in 5 states: S0 to S4. Photons trapped...
(OEC).
After 1983 he focused on teaching and research, moving into a `third research career' in Fourier-transform microwave spectroscopy
Fourier transform spectroscopy
Fourier transform spectroscopy is a measurement technique whereby spectra are collected based on measurements of the coherence of a radiative source, using time-domain or space-domain measurements of the electromagnetic radiation or other type of radiation....
studies of small, weakly bonded molecules in the gas phase. He died on January 13, 2000 in Urbana.
Other Heads, Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois
| Head | Years of Service | Years |
|---|---|---|
| A. P. S. Stewart | 1868–1874 | 6 |
| Henry A. Weber | 1874–1882 | 8 |
| William McMurtrie | 1882–1888 | 6 |
| J. C. Jackson | 1888 | 1 |
| Arthur W. Palmer | 1889–1904 | 15 |
| Harry S. Grindley | 1904–1907 | 3 |
| William A. Noyes William A. Noyes William Albert Noyes was an American analytical and organic chemist. He made pioneering determinations of atomic weights, chaired the Chemistry Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1907 to 1926, was the founder and editor of several important chemical journals, and... |
1907–1926 | 19 |
| Roger Adams Roger Adams Roger Adams was an American organic chemist. He is best-known for the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and his work did much to determine the composition of naturally occurring substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids... |
1926–1954 | 28 |
| Herbert E. Carter H. E. Carter H.E. Carter was an American biochemist and educator. He grew up in central Indiana and received his bachelors degree from DePauw University. He received a Ph.D... |
1954–1967 | 13 |
| Herbert S. Gutowsky | 1967–1983 | 16 |
| Larry R. Faulkner | 1984–1989 | 5 |
| Gary B. Schuster Gary Schuster Gary Benjamin Schuster was the interim president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, a position he held from July 1, 2008, when former president G. Wayne Clough stepped down, until April 1, 2009, when George P. "Bud" Peterson was named Georgia Tech's permanent president... |
1989–1994 | 5 |
| Paul W. Bohn | 1995–1999 | 5 |
| Steven C. Zimmerman Steven Zimmerman Professor Steven C. Zimmerman is an organic chemist on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.-Early life and education:... |
1999–2000 | 1 |
| Gregory S. Girolami | 2000–2005 | 5 |
| Steven C. Zimmerman Steven Zimmerman Professor Steven C. Zimmerman is an organic chemist on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.-Early life and education:... |
2005- |
See also
- Charles Pence SlichterCharles Pence SlichterCharles Pence Slichter is an American physicist, best known for his work on nuclear magnetic resonance and superconductivity....
- Nuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
- Chemical shiftChemical shiftIn nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the chemical shift is the resonant frequency of a nucleus relative to a standard. Often the position and number of chemical shifts are diagnostic of the structure of a molecule...
- Knight shiftKnight shiftThe Knight shift is a shift in the nuclear magnetic resonance frequency of a paramagneticsubstance first published in 1949 by the American physicist Walter David Knight.The Knight shift is due to the conduction electrons in metals...
- Relaxation (physics)
- J-couplingJ-couplingJ-coupling is the coupling between two nuclear spins due to the influence of bonding electrons on the magnetic field running between the two nuclei. J-coupling contains information about dihedral angles, which can be estimated using the Karplus equation...
- Dynamic nuclear polarisationDynamic nuclear polarisationDynamic nuclear polarization results from transferring spin polarization from electrons to nuclei, thereby aligning the nuclear spins to the extent that electron spins are aligned. Note that the alignment of electron spins at a given magnetic field and temperature is described by the Boltzmann...
- NMR spectroscopyNMR spectroscopyNuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy, is a research technique that exploits the magnetic properties of certain atomic nuclei to determine physical and chemical properties of atoms or the molecules in which they are contained...
- Carbon-13 NMRCarbon-13 NMRCarbon-13 NMR is the application of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to carbon. It is analogous to proton NMR and allows the identification of carbon atoms in an organic molecule just as proton NMR identifies hydrogen atoms...
- Deuterium NMRDeuteriumDeuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
- 2D-FT NMRI and Spectroscopy
- Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonanceSolid-state nuclear magnetic resonanceSolid-state NMR spectroscopy is a kind of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, characterized by the presence of anisotropic interactions.-Introduction:Basic concepts...
- NMR spectra databaseNMR spectra databaseNuclear Magnetic Resonance spectra database is an electronic repository of information concerning NMR spectra. The repository can be stored as a complete self contained data set or as an online repository that can be accessed and searched remotely. The form in which the data is stored ranges...
- In vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopyIn vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopyIn vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a specialised technique associated to magnetic resonance imaging ....