Kurt Mislow

Kurt Mislow
Born5 June 1923
Berlin, Germany
Died5 October 2017
Princeton, N.J.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBA, Tulane University, 1944 PhD, California Institute of Technology, 1947
Known forStereochemistry
Scientific career
InstitutionsNew York University, Princeton University
Doctoral advisorLinus Pauling

Kurt Martin Mislow (June 5, 1923 – October 5, 2017) was a German-born American organic chemist who specialized in stereochemistry.

Early life and education

Born in Berlin on June 5, 1923, Mislow had moved to London by 1938, after some time in Milan. With the help of his uncle Alfred Eisenstaedt, Mislow's family left London for New York City in 1940. Mislow earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Tulane University in 1944, and received a doctorate from the California Institute of Technology, where he was supervised by Linus Pauling.[1] His thesis was entitled: I. The Synthesis of Potential Antimaterials. Some 2-Substituted 8-(3-Diethylaminopropylaminol)-Quinolines. II. Isomorphism in Relation to Serological Specificity. III. A Study of the Hammick Reaction.[2]

Career and research

Mislow first taught at New York University, then moved to Princeton University in 1964. While at Princeton, Mislow served as Hugh Stott Taylor Professor of Chemistry and led the chemistry department from 1968 to 1974. He became a professor emeritus in 1988.[1]

Awards and honors

Over the course of his career, Mislow was named a Guggenheim fellow twice, in 1956 and 1974. Between 1959 and 1963, Mislow was granted the Sloan Research Fellowship. He became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1972, followed by fellowships in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, granted in 1974, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, bestowed in 1980. In 1999, Mislow was named a foreign member of the Accademia dei Lincei. The American Chemical Society honored Mislow with several awards, among them the James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry (1975), the William H. Nichols Medal Award (1987), and the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (1995).[1]

Personal life

Mislow died at the age of 94 years on Oct. 5, 2017. He was survived by his wife, son, and two grandsons.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Kurt Mislow, pioneer in stereochemistry, dies at 94". Princeton University. October 27, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  2. ^ "I. The Synthesis of Potential Antimaterials. Some 2-Substituted 8-(3-Diethylaminopropylaminol)-Quinolines. II. Isomorphism in Relation to Serological Specificity. III. A Study of the Hammick Reaction". Caltech Coda. 15 June 2004.
  3. ^ Wang, Linda (20 November 2017). "Obituary: Kurt Mislow". Chemical & Engineering News.