John D. Roberts

Roberts studied at University of California, Los Angeles. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is chemistry, physical chemistry and spectroscopy. Residence is recorded at California. Employment is recorded with Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology. Distinctions recorded are Willard Gibbs Award, ACS Award in Pure Chemistry, National Medal of Science and Priestley Medal.

• Name — John D. Roberts • Birth Name — John Dombrowski Roberts • Born — 8 June 1918 • Birthplace — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Died — 29 October 2016 • Place of death — Pasadena, California, U.S. • Field — Chemistry • Education — UCLA • Workplaces — Penn State UCLA Harvard MIT Caltech • Thesis Title — Studies of the nature of the butenyl Grignard reagent • Thesis Url — https: www.proquest.com/docview/301824156/ • Thesis Year — 1945 • Doctoral Advisors — William Gould Young • Doctoral Students — * Joseph B. Lambert • David Israel Schuster • Dorothy Semenow • Howard E. Simmons • George M. Whitesides • Notable Students — Post-docs: • William Bachovchin • Marjorie Constance Caserio • Donald J. Cram • Sukh Dev • Andrew Streitwieser Undergrad: • Jesse L. Beauchamp MS student: • Dinshaw Patel • Awards — * ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1954) • Roger Adams Award in Organic Chemistry (1967) • William H. Nichols Medal (1972) • Tolman Award (1974) • Willard Gibbs Award (1983) • Priestley Medal (1987) • Welch Award (1990) • National Medal of Science (1990) • Glenn T. Seaborg Medal (1991) • Arthur C. Cope Award (1994) • Nakanishi Prize (2001) • Linus Pauling Legacy Award (2006) • American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (2013)

• Illustration — Roberts in 1967 Roberts received both a B.A. (1941) and Ph.D. (1944) from the University of California, Los Angeles, working under Professor William Gould Young. He held several positions at the California Institute of Technology, including division chairman of chemistry and chemical engineering from 1963 to 1968, dean of the faculty and provost from 1980 to 1983 and Institute Professor of chemistry, emeritus (1988–2016) in the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. He is credited with bringing the first female graduate student, Dorothy Semenow, to Caltech when he moved from MIT. He was a consultant for DuPont Central Research (1950–2008) and for Oak Ridge. He published his autobiography in 1990, The Right Place at the Right Time. Roberts died on October 29, 2016, at the age of 98 from a stroke.

Roberts worked in chemistry, physical chemistry and spectroscopy. He was employed by Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology and University of California, Los Angeles. He belonged to National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, White House press corps and American Philosophical Society. He worked at California.