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Harold Kroto
Harold Kroto
Harold Kroto
Born 7 October 1939
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England
Nationality English
Fields chemist
Institutions Florida State University
University of Sussex
Alma mater University of Sheffield
Known for buckminsterfullerene
Notable awards 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Sir Harold (Harry) Walter Kroto, FRS (born 7 October 1939) is an English chemist and one of the 3 recipents to share the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Wisbech ('wɪzbiʧ is a market town and inland port with a population of about 20000 in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire. History Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlement in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Florida State University (commonly referred to as Florida State or FSU) is a public Research University located in Tallahassee The University of Sussex is a British Campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is from Brighton Alma mater is Latin for "nourishing mother" It was used in Ancient Rome as a title for the mother Goddess, and in Medieval The University of Sheffield is a research University, located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. "C60" and "C-60" redirect here For other uses see C60 (disambiguation. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Nobelpriset i kemi is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of Chemistry. The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) Year 1939 ( MCMXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties The Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Nobelpriset i kemi is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of Chemistry.

He is currently on faculty at Florida State University, which he joined in 2004, and prior to that he spent a large part of his working career at the University of Sussex, where he holds an emeritus professorship. Florida State University (commonly referred to as Florida State or FSU) is a public Research University located in Tallahassee The University of Sussex is a British Campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is from Brighton

Contents

Early life

He was born Harold Krotoschiner in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England with his unusual name being of Silesian origin. Wisbech ('wɪzbiʧ is a market town and inland port with a population of about 20000 in the Fenland area of Cambridgeshire. History Cambridgeshire is noted as the site of some of the earliest known Neolithic permanent settlement in the United Kingdom, along with sites at Fengate England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Etymology One theory claims that the name Silesia is derived from the Silingi, who were most likely a Vandalic (East Germanic people His father's family came from Bojanowo, Poland, and his mother's from Berlin, Germany. Bojanowo is a town in Rawicz County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

Both his parents were born in Berlin but came to Great Britain in the 1930s as refugees from the Nazis because his father was Jewish. According to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race

He was raised in Bolton, Lancashire, England, and attended Bolton School, where he was a contemporary of the highly acclaimed actor Sir Ian McKellen. Bolton ( is a large town in Greater Manchester, in the North West region of England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Bolton School is an independent school in Bolton, Greater Manchester, in the North-West of England. Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE (born 25 May 1939 is an English stage and screen actor the In 1955, the family name was shortened to Kroto.

As a child, he became fascinated by a Meccano set. Meccano is a model Construction kit comprising re-usable Metal strips plates angle Girders Wheels axles and Kroto credits Meccano — amongst other things — with developing skills useful in scientific research [1]. Research is defined as Human activity based on Intellectual application in the investigation of Matter. He was raised Jewish, but the religion never made any sense to him.

He now claims to have four "religions": humanism, atheism, amnesty-internationalism and humourism. Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal Atheism Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to He developed an interest in chemistry, physics, and mathematics in secondary school, and because his sixth form chemistry teacher (Harry Heaney - who subsequently became a University Professor) felt that the University of Sheffield had the best chemistry department in the United Kingdom, he went to Sheffield. Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties Physics (Greek Physis - φύσις in everyday terms is the Science of Matter and its motion. Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and The sixth form, in the English, Welsh and Northern Irish education systems Commonwealth West Indian countries such as Barbados, Belize Harry Heaney is an Emeritus Professor of Organic Chemistry at Loughborough University. The University of Sheffield is a research University, located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England.

In 1963 he married Margaret Henrietta Hunter, also a student at the University.

Early work

In 1961 he obtained a first class BSc honours degree in chemistry at the University of Sheffield, followed in 1964 by a PhD at the same institution. A Bachelor of Science ( BS, BSc or BSc in the UK; less commonly S Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties The University of Sheffield is a research University, located in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. "PhD" redirects here for other uses see PhD (disambiguation. His doctoral research involved high-resolution electronic spectra of free radicals produced by flash photolysis (breaking of chemical bonds by light). In Chemistry, radicals (often referred to as free radicals) are atoms molecules or ions with Unpaired electrons on an otherwise Open shell Flash photolysis is a pump-probe laboratory technique in which a sample is firstly excited by a strong pulse (called pump pulse of light from a Laser of Nanosecond A chemical bond is the physical process responsible for the attractive interactions between Atoms and Molecules and which confers stability to diatomic and polyatomic Light, or visible light, is Electromagnetic radiation of a Wavelength that is visible to the Human eye (about 400–700

Among other things such as making the first phosphaalkenes (compounds with carbon phosphorus double bonds), his doctoral studies included some unpublished research on carbon suboxide, O=C=C=C=O, and this led to a general interest in molecules containing chains of carbon atoms with numerous multiple bonds. Carbon suboxide, or tricarbon dioxide C3O2with four cumulative double bonds making it a Cumulene. In Chemistry, a molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable electrically neutral group of at least two Atoms in a definite arrangement held together by He started his work with an interest in organic chemistry, but when he learned about spectroscopy it inclined him to quantum chemistry. Organic chemistry is a discipline within Chemistry which involves the scientific study of the structure properties composition reactions, and preparation Spectroscopy was originally the study of the interaction between Radiation and Matter as a function of Wavelength (λ Quantum chemistry is a branch of Theoretical chemistry, which applies Quantum mechanics and Quantum field theory to address issues and problems in

After postdoctoral research at the National Research Council in Canada and Bell Laboratories in the USA he began teaching and research at the University of Sussex in England in 1967. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Bell Laboratories (also known as Bell Labs and formerly known as AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bell Telephone Laboratories) is the Research organization The University of Sussex is a British Campus university which is situated next to the East Sussex village of Falmer, and is from Brighton He became a full professor in 1985, and a Royal Society Research Professor from 1991 – 2001.

Subsequent work

In the 1970s he launched a research programme at Sussex to look for carbon chains in interstellar space. Carbon (kɑɹbən is a Chemical element with the symbol C and its Atomic number is 6 Interstellar Space was the one of the final studio albums recorded by the saxophonist John Coltrane before his death in 1967 originally-released posthumously Earlier studies had detected the molecule cyanoacetylene, H-C≡C-C≡N. The polyynes are a group of Organic compounds with alternating single and triple bonds, for example buta-13-diyne ( Diacetylene) C4H2 Kroto's group searched for spectral evidence of longer similar molecules such as cyanobutadiyne, H-C≡C-C≡C-C≡N and cyanohexatriyne, H-C≡C-C≡C-C≡C-C≡N, and found them from 1975–1978. The polyynes are a group of Organic compounds with alternating single and triple bonds, for example buta-13-diyne ( Diacetylene) C4H2 The polyynes are a group of Organic compounds with alternating single and triple bonds, for example buta-13-diyne ( Diacetylene) C4H2

Trying to explain them led to the discovery of the C60 molecule. (See buckminsterfullerene. "C60" and "C-60" redirect here For other uses see C60 (disambiguation. ) He heard of laser spectroscopy work being done by Richard Smalley and Robert Curl at Rice University in Texas. A laser is a device that emits Light ( Electromagnetic radiation) through a process called Stimulated emission. Spectroscopy was originally the study of the interaction between Radiation and Matter as a function of Wavelength (λ Richard Errett Smalley ( June 6, 1943 – October 28, 2005) was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry Robert Floyd Curl Jr (born August 23, 1933) the son of a Methodist Minister is an Emeritus professor of Chemistry at Rice University William Marsh Rice University (commonly called Rice University and opened in 1912 as The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters Science and Art He suggested that they should use the Rice apparatus to simulate the carbon chemistry that occurs in the atmosphere of a carbon star.

The experiment carried out in September 1985 not only proved that carbon stars could produce the chains but revealed an amazing, serendipitous result - the existence of the C60 species. The three scientists carried out the work with graduate students Jim Heath (now a full Professor at Caltech), Sean O'Brien (now at Texas Instruments), and Yuan Liu (now at Oak Ridge). See also Postgraduate Training in Education Postgraduate education (synonymous in North America with graduate education, and sometimes described The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech) is a private, Coeducational research university located in Pasadena Texas Instruments ( better known in the electronics industry (and popularly as TI, is an American company based in Dallas, Texas, USA The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was shared by Curl, Kroto and Smalley in 1996. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry (Nobelpriset i kemi is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of Chemistry.

In 1995 he jointly set up the Vega Science Trust a UK educational charity (see www.vega.org.uk) to create high quality science films including lectures, interviews with Nobel Laureates, discussion programmes, careers and teaching resources for TV and Internet Broadcast. Vega has produced some 100 plus programmes of which 50 have been broadcast on BBC TV in late-night slots. Additionally, all programmes stream for free from the Vega website which acts as a TV science channel. Viewing figures on terrestrial TV vary from 300,000 to 700,000. The website which is accessed by over 165 countries is designed by Harry Kroto and shows his other main interest - graphic design.

He presently carries out research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of Applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an Atomic and Molecular Nanotechnology, sometimes shortened to nanotech, refers to a field of Applied science whose theme is the control of matter on an Atomic and Molecular

He attended and was a speaker at the Beyond Belief symposia in 2006 and 2007. Beyond Belief Science Religion Reason and Survival was the first event of the annual Beyond Belief symposium which brings together a group of scientists and philosophers to

He awarded Richard Strutt the King Edward VI College VIth Form Chemistry Prize 1995.

References

  1. ^ Kroto Nobel Prize autobiography

External links


The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660
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