Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was the
Gene and Norman HackermanNorman Hackerman was an American chemist, internationally known as an expert in metal corrosion, and a former president of both the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University ....
Professor of ChemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
and a Professor of
PhysicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
and
AstronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
at
Rice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
, in
Houston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
. He was awarded the
Nobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
in 1996 for the discovery of a new form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene ("buckyballs") (with
Robert CurlRobert Floyd Curl, Jr. the son of a Methodist Minister is an emeritus professor of chemistry at Rice University.He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of fullerene .Born in Alice, Texas, United States, Curl received a B.A...
, also a professor of chemistry at Rice, and
Harold KrotoSir Harold Walter Kroto, FRS is an English chemist and one of the three recipients to share the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry....
, a professor at the
University of SussexThe University of Sussex is a British campus university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. It was the first of the "plate glass" universities founded in the 1960s. It received its Royal Charter in August 1961...
).
Smalley, the youngest of 4 siblings, was born in
Akron, OhioAkron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. In 2008, its population was estimated to be 207,510. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland to the north and Canton to the south, approximately 60 miles west of...
, and grew up in
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
.
Smalley attended
Hope CollegeHope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
before transferring to the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
where he received his
B.S.A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in 1965.
Richard Errett Smalley (June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was the
Gene and Norman HackermanNorman Hackerman was an American chemist, internationally known as an expert in metal corrosion, and a former president of both the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University ....
Professor of ChemistryChemistry is the science concerned with the composition, behavior, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions...
and a Professor of
PhysicsPhysics is a natural science; it is the study of matter and its motion through spacetime and all that derives from these, such as energy and force...
and
AstronomyAstronomy is the scientific study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere...
at
Rice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
, in
Houston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States and the largest city within the state of Texas. As of the 2008 U.S. Census estimate, the city has a population of 2.2 million within an area of 600 square miles . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of...
. He was awarded the
Nobel Prize in ChemistryThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
in 1996 for the discovery of a new form of carbon, buckminsterfullerene ("buckyballs") (with
Robert CurlRobert Floyd Curl, Jr. the son of a Methodist Minister is an emeritus professor of chemistry at Rice University.He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of fullerene .Born in Alice, Texas, United States, Curl received a B.A...
, also a professor of chemistry at Rice, and
Harold KrotoSir Harold Walter Kroto, FRS is an English chemist and one of the three recipients to share the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry....
, a professor at the
University of SussexThe University of Sussex is a British campus university situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, within the city of Brighton and Hove. It was the first of the "plate glass" universities founded in the 1960s. It received its Royal Charter in August 1961...
).
Early life
Smalley, the youngest of 4 siblings, was born in
Akron, OhioAkron is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. In 2008, its population was estimated to be 207,510. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on the Cuyahoga River between Cleveland to the north and Canton to the south, approximately 60 miles west of...
, and grew up in
Kansas City, MissouriKansas City is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties. It is one of two county seats of Jackson County, the other being Independence, just to the city's east...
.
Smalley attended
Hope CollegeHope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
before transferring to the
University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
where he received his
B.S.A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in 1965. Between his studies, he worked in industry, where he developed his unique managerial style. He received his
Ph.D.Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
from
Princeton UniversityPrinceton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
in 1973. He completed postdoctoral work at the
University of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private, coeducational research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by oil magnate and benefactor John D...
, with Lennard Wharton and Donald Levy, where he was a pioneer in the development of
supersonicThe term supersonic is used to define a speed that is over the speed of sound . In dry air at 20 °C , the threshold value required for an object to be traveling at a supersonic speed is approximately 343 m/s, . Speeds greater than 5 times the speed of sound are often referred to as hypersonic...
beam laser spectroscopy.
Fullerenes and nanotechnology
Smalley's research in physical chemistry investigated formation of inorganic and semiconductor clusters using pulsed molecular beams and time of flight
mass spectrometryMass spectrometry is an analytical technique for the determination of the elemental composition of a sample or molecule. It is also used for elucidating the chemical structures of molecules, such as peptides and other chemical compounds...
. As a consequence of this expertise, Robert Curl introduced him to Harry Kroto in order to investigate a question about the constituents of astronomical 'dark matter'. The result of this collaboration was the discovery of C
60 as the third allotropic form of carbon.
The research that earned Kroto, Smalley and Curl the Nobel Prize was published in the Nov. 14, 1985, issue of Nature as "C
60: Buckminsterfullerene." Although only three people can be cited for a Nobel Prize, graduate students
James R. HeathJames R. Heath is an American chemist and the Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology.- Early years :...
and Sean C. O'Brien participated in the work. Smalley mentions them in his Nobel Lecture. Heath went on to become a professor at CalTech and O'Brien joined Texas Instruments.
Following nearly a decade's worth of research into the formation of alternate fullerine compounds (e.g. C
28, C
70), as well as the synthesis of endohedral metallofullerinese (M@C
60), reports of the identification of carbon nanotube structures led Rick to begin investigating the iron-catalyzed synthesis of carbon nanotubes.
As a consequence of these researches, Smalley was able to persuade the administration of Rice University under Malcolm Gillis to create the Rice Center for Nanoscience and Technology (CNST), focusing on any aspect of
molecular nanotechnologyMolecular nanotechnology is the concept of engineering functional mechanical systems at the molecular scale. An equivalent definition would be "machines at the molecular scale designed and built atom-by-atom". This is distinct from nanoscale materials...
.
Smalley's latest research was focused on carbon nanotubes, specifically focusing on the
chemical synthesisIn chemistry, chemical synthesis is purposeful execution of chemical reactions to get a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions...
side of nanotube research. He is well-known for his group's invention of the high-pressure
carbon monoxideCarbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas, yet very toxic to humans. It consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom, connected by a covalent double bond and a dative covalent bond...
(HiPco) method of producing large batches of high-quality nanotubes. Smalley spun off his work into a company, Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc. and associated
nanotechnologiesNanotechnology, shortened to "nanotech", is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally nanotechnology deals with structures of the size 100 nanometers or smaller, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.Nanotechnology is very diverse,...
.
He was an outspoken critic of the idea of
molecular assemblerA molecular assembler as defined by K. Eric Drexler is a "proposed device able to guide chemical reactions by positioning reactive molecules with atomic precision." Some biological molecules such as ribosomes fit this definition, since while working within a cell's environment, they receive...
s, as advocated by
K. Eric DrexlerKim Eric Drexler is an American engineer best known for popularizing the potential of molecular nanotechnology , from the 1970s and 1980s.His 1991 doctoral thesis at MIT was revised and published as...
and introduced scientific objections to them. His two main objections, which he had termed the “fat fingers problem" and the "sticky fingers problem”, argued against the feasibility of molecular assemblers being able to precisely select and place individual atoms. He also believed that Drexler’s speculations about apocalyptic dangers of molecular assemblers threaten the public support for development of nanotechnology. He debated Drexler in an exchange of letters which were published in
Chemical & Engineering NewsChemical & Engineering News is a weekly chemistry news magazine published by the American Chemical Society. The magazine addresses current events in world of chemistry including recent advances in research, industry, education, funding, and regulations. The magazine is sent to all members of the...
as a point-counterpoint feature.
Later life
In 1999 Smalley was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which later became
chronic lymphocytic leukemiaB-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia , also known as chronic lymphoid leukemia , is the most common type of leukemia. Leukemias are abnormal and malignant neoplastic proliferations of the white blood cells . CLL involves a particular subtype of white blood cells, which is a lymphocyte called a B...
.
In his later years, Smalley was very outspoken about the need for cheap, clean energy, which he described as the number one problem facing humanity in the 21st century. He felt that improved science education was key, and went to great lengths to encourage young students to consider careers in science. His slogan for this effort was "Be a scientist, save the world."
Skeptical of
religionA religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth...
in general for most of his life, Smalley became a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
during his last years. (See the Wikiquote for his personal statement in May 2005.)
In some of his later presentations, he presented a list entitled "Top Ten Problems of Humanityfor Next 50 Years". . His list in order of priority is:
- Energy
- Water
- Food
- Environment
- Poverty
- Terrorism & war
- Disease
- Education
- Democracy
- Population
See also
The Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty-First CenturyThe Next Fifty Years: Science in the First Half of the Twenty-First Century is a 2002 collection of essays by twenty-five well-known scientists, edited by Edge Foundation founder John Brockman, who wrote the introduction....
.
At the
Tuskegee UniversityTuskegee University is a private, historically black university located in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. The campus forms the Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site, a National Historic Landmark.-Academics:Tuskegee University...
's 79th Annual Scholarship Convocation/Parents' Recognition Program he made the following statement regarding the subject of evolution while urging his audience to take seriously their role as the higher species on this planet. “The burden of proof is on those who don't believe that "'Genesis' was right, and there was a creation, and that Creator is still involved. We are the only species that can destroy the Earth or take care of it and nurture all that live on this very special planet. I'm urging you to look on these things. For whatever reason, this planet was built specifically for us. Working on this planet is an absolute moral code. ... Let's go out and do what we were put on Earth to do."
Smalley died on October 28, 2005, at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, at the age of 62.
Old Earth creationist and
astronomerAn astronomer is a scientist who studies celestial bodies such as planets, stars, and galaxies.Historically, astronomy was more concerned with the classification and description of phenomena in the sky, while astrophysics attempted to explain these phenomena and the differences between them using...
Hugh RossHugh Norman Ross is a Canadian-born Old Earth creationist and Christian apologist. An astronomer and astrophysicist, he has established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe that promotes forms of Old Earth creationism known as progressive creationism and day-age creationism...
spoke at Smalley's funeral, November 2, 2005. Audio of speech is available.
Education
- Hope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
, Holland, MichiganHolland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated near the eastern shore of Lake Michigan on Lake Macatawa, which is fed by the Macatawa River . The city spans the Ottawa/Allegan county line, with in Ottawa and the remaining in Allegan...
, 1961–1963
- B.S.
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
, Chemistry, University of MichiganThe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is a public research university located in the state of Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university, the flagship campus of the University of Michigan, and one of the top public universities in the world...
, Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 Census, of which 36,892 are university or college students...
, 1965
- M.A., Princeton University
Princeton University a private university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League and is considered one of the Colonial Colleges....
, Princeton, New JerseyPrinceton, New Jersey is located in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. Princeton University has been sited in the town since 1756. Although Princeton is a "college town", there are other important institutions in the area, including the Institute for Advanced Study, Educational Testing...
, 1971
- Ph.D., Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 1973
Publications
- Smalley, R.E. "Supersonic bare metal cluster beams. Final report", Rice University
William Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
, United States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
--Office of Energy Research, (Oct. 14, 1997).
- Smalley, R.E. "Supersonic Bare Metal Cluster Beams. Technical Progress Report, March 16, 1984 - April 1, 1985", Rice University
William Marsh Rice University is a private coeducational research university located in Houston, Texas, United States...
, United States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
—Office of Basic Energy Sciences, (Jan. 1, 1985).
Fellowships
- Harold W. Dodds Fellow, Princeton University, 1973
- Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, 1978–1980
- Fellow of the American Physical Society
The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen science journals, including the world renowned Physical Review andPhysical Review Letters, and...
, 1987
- Fellow
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is an honor accorded to distinguished persons who are members of the Association, the world's largest scientific society and publisher of the peer-reviewed weekly journal Science...
of the American Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation between scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for...
, 2003
Awards and prizes
- Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...
Prize in Chemical Physics, American Physical Society, 1991
- Popular Science
Popular Science is an American monthly magazine founded in 1872 carrying articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. Popular Science has won over 58 awards, including the ASME awards for its journalistic excellence in both 2003 and 2004...
Magazine Grand Award in Science & Technology, 1991
- APS International Prize for New Materials, 1992 (Joint with R. F. Curl & H. W. Kroto)
- Ernest O. Lawrence Memorial Award, U.S. Department of Energy, 1992
- Welch Award in Chemistry, Robert A. Welch Foundation
Founded in 1954, Robert A. Welch Foundation is a non-profit organization which seeks to advance chemistry research, especially in the state of Texas. It is named for Robert Alonzo Welch, an industrialist whose will provided the funds to set up the foundation, along with scholarships, endowments,...
, 1992
- Auburn-G.M. Kosolapoff Award, Auburn Section, American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society is a learned society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry...
, 1992
- Southwest Regional Award, American Chemical Society, 1992
- William H. Nichols
William Henry Nichols was a famous chemist and businessman who was instrumental in building the chemical supply business in the U.S. The specialty materials business of Honeywell traces its roots back a small sulfuric acid company he started in 1870. Nichols was one of the original founders of the...
Medal, New York Section, American Chemical Society, 1993
- The John Scott Award, City of Philadelphia, 1993
- Hewlett-Packard Europhysics Prize, European Physical Society
The European Physical Society is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote physics and physicists in Europe. Formally established in 1968, its membership includes the national physical societies of 40 countries, and some 2500 individual members. The Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft,...
, 1994
- Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section, American Chemical Society, 1994
- Madison Marshall Award, North Alabama Section, American Chemical Society, 1995
- Franklin Medal, The Franklin Institute, 1996
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
, Royal Swedish Academy of SciencesThe Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademin is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. The Academy is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization which acts to promote the sciences, primarily the natural sciences and mathematics.The Academy was founded on 2 June...
, 1996
- Rice University Homecoming Queen, Rice University Undergraduates, 1996 (according to http://www.rice.edu/projects/thresher/issues/84/961101/News/Story06.html, confirmed by Smalley's official CV at http://smalley.rice.edu/smalley.cfm?doc_id=5111)
- Distinguished Civilian Public Service Award, Department of the Navy, 1997
- American Carbon Society Medal, 1997
- Top 75 Distinguished Contributors, Chemical & Engineering News, 1998
- Lifetime Achievement Award, Small Times Magazine, 2003
- Glenn T. Seaborg Medal
The Glenn T. Seaborg Medal was first awarded in 1987 by the University of California at Los Angeles , Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry to Nobel prize winning chemist Glenn T. Seaborg, a UCLA alumnus...
, University of California at Los Angeles, 2002
- Distinguished Alumni Award, Hope College, 2005
- 50th Anniversary Visionary Award, SPIE – International Society for Optical Engineering, 2005
External links