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ROBERT SANDERSON MULLIKEN
Robert Sanderson Mulliken was born in
Newburyport, Massachusetts, on June 7, 1896, the son of Samuel
Parsons Mulliken, Professor of Organic Chemistry, and Katherine W.
Mulliken. He married Mary Helen von Noè, December 24, 1929. Their
children are Lucia Maria (Mrs.John P.Heard) and Valerie
Noè.
Mulliken took a B.Sc.Degree in 1917 at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, Mass., and a Ph.D. degree at the University of Chicago, Ill., in
1921.
Mulliken has been deeply interested in valence theory
and molecular structure. His earlier work on isotopes and on
diatomic band spectra was followed by theoretical systematization of
the electronic states of molecules, mainly in terms of the idea of
molecular orbitals. This included work on electronegativities,
dipole moments, and valence-state energies. A subsequent series of
papers on the theoretical interpretation of absolute intensities of
electronic spectra led him to computations on conjugated organic
molecules, and to the quantum-mechanical statement of the concept of
hyperconjugation. There followed work on quantum-mechanical
questions underlying molecular-orbital theory and on the use of
interatomic overlap integrals as measures of bond energies. His more
recent work has dealt extensively with the structure and spectra of
molecular complexes, on the one hand, and on the other hand
(extending and developing earlier work) with the structure and
spectra of hydrogen, helium, nitrogen and other small molecules.
Mulliken was National Research Council Fellow, University of
Chicago, and Harvard
University, 1921-1925; Guggenheim Fellow, Germany and Europe,
1930 and 1932-1933; Fulbright Scholar, Oxford University, 1952-1954;
Visiting Fellow, St.John's
College, Oxford, 1952-1953 ;Junior Chemical Engineer, Bureau of
Mines, U. S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C. 1917-1918;
Assistant in Rubber Research, New Jersey Zinc Company, Pennsylvania,
1919.
His academic career includes the following positions:
Assistant Professor of Physics, Washington Square College, New York University, 1926-1928;
Associate Professor of Physics, University of Chicago, 1928-1931;
Professor of Physics, University of Chicago, 1931-1961, and
Chemistry, 1961; Ernest de Witt Burton Distinguished Service
Professor, University of Chicago, 1956-1961; Distinguished Service
Professor of Physics and Chemistry, University of Chicago, since
1961; Distinguished Research Professor of Chemical Physics, Florida State University
(Jan.-March), since 1964. Other professional positions held:
Director, Editorial Work and Information, Plutonium Project,
University of Chicago, 1942-1945; Scientific Attache, U. S. Ambassy,
London, 1955; Baker Lecturer, Cornell University, 1960;
Silliman Lecturer, Yale
University, Spring, 1965.
Mulliken received honorary
degrees at Columbia
University, 1939 (Sc. D.); the University of Stockholm, 1960 (Ph.D.);
Marquette University, 1967 (Sc.
D.); Cambridge University, 1967
(Sc. D.) ; and he holds several professional awards and honours of
which a few are listed here: Bronze Medal Award, University of Liege, 1948; Peter
Debye Award, California Section of the American Chemical Society, 1963;
Willard Gibbs Medal, Chicago Section of the American Chemical
Society, 1965; Gold Medal Award for Scientific Achievement, City
College Chemistry Alumni Association, and 15th Bicentennial
Lecturer, City College of New
York, 1965.
He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, American Chemical Society, American Philosophical
Society, National Academy of
Sciences, Cosmos Club (Washington, D.C.), Quadrangle Club
(Chicago, Ill.); a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Academy for the
Advancement of Science; an Honorary Fellow of the Chemical
Society of Great Britain (London) and the Indian National Academy of
Science; a Foreign Member of the Royal Society of Great Britain; an
Honorary Member of the Société de Chimie Physique; and a
Corresponding Member of the Société Royale des Sciences de Liége.
His recreational interests include: driving a car, oriental
rugs, and art.
From Les
Prix Nobel 1966. |
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