George C. Pimentel | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1922-05-02)May 2, 1922 |
| Died | June 18, 1989(1989-06-18) (aged 67) |
| Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles (B.S. 1943) University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1949) |
| Known for | Chemical laser, matrix isolation, infrared spectroscopy of MARS and chemical education |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemist |
| Institutions | University of California, Berkeley |
| Thesis | I. Spectroscopic study of two Boranes / II. Thermocouples involving superconductors (1949) |
| Doctoral advisor | Kenneth S. Pitzer[1] |
| Doctoral students | John D. Baldeschwieler Mario Molina William Klemperer Vicki Grassian Geraldine L. Richmond Lester Andrews |
George Claude Pimentel (May 2, 1922 – June 18, 1989) was a preeminent chemist and researcher, the inventor of thechemical laser, who was also dedicated to science education and public service.[2] He developed the technique ofmatrix isolation in low-temperature chemistry. He also developedtime-resolved infrared spectroscopy to study radicals and other transient species. In the late 1960s, Pimentel led the University of California team that designed theinfrared spectrometer for theMars Mariner 6 and 7 missions that analyzed the surface and atmosphere ofMars.[3]
He was a passionate and popular teacher of first-year chemistry for his entire career. In science education, he was best known for theCHEM STUDY project, a national effort to improve high-school chemistry teaching. He participated in the production of films and other supplementary materials and in the training of teachers nationwide. Later, in 1985, he organized and edited the National Academy of Sciences' "Pimentel Report," formally known asOpportunities in Chemistry, which highlighted the most important challenges in chemistry at that time. It was a resource for general public including lawmakers. A revised version,Opportunities in Chemistry Today and Tomorrow, was used worldwide for high school and college students.
An alumnus ofUniversity of California, Los Angeles (B.S. 1943) andUniversity of California, Berkeley (Ph.D. 1949), Pimentel began teaching at Berkeley in 1949, where he remained until his death in 1989 fromintestinal cancer, with a three year appointment as Deputy Director at theNational Science Foundation under theCarter administration in Washington, D.C..[1][4]
The ACS Award in Chemical Education was renamed theGeorge C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education in his honor in 1989.[5][6]
In 1966, Pimentel was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences and in 1968 to the American Academy of Arts and Science. In 1987 and 1989 he was elected an honorary member of theRoyal Chemical Society (Great Britain), and the Royal Institute of Great Britain.[8] In 1987, he served as thePresident of the American Chemical Society.
In 1961,John C. Polanyi was the first to point out the possibility of chemical pumping based on vibrational excitation. He proposed four possible reactions, one of which was the reaction of H + Cl2. Using an infrared spectrometer, Jerome Kasper and Pimentel discovered infrared pulses produced by photodissociation of iodine, the first chemical laser. In September 1964, they announced their discovery at the first conference on chemical lasers, by that time more than 100 possible chemical reactions and 60 photodissociation reactions were proposed capable of producing laser radiation. However, at the symposium inSan Diego only one working laser was reported, which was laced with photodissociation of iodine. In 1965, Kasper and Pimentel discovered the laser radiation HCl, arising from the explosion of the system H2 / Cl2. After the discovery of the laser based on the reaction of F + H2 in 1967, the number of chemical lasers found by the Pimentel laboratory rapidly increased. Thus, Pimentel first transformed the chemical energy obtained as a result of vibrational excitation into laser radiation.
