Harry Kroto

Sir Harry Kroto
Born Harold Walter Krotoschiner
(1939-10-07)7 October 1939
Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Died 30 April 2016(2016-04-30) (aged 76)
Lewes, East Sussex, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Fields Chemistry
Institutions
Alma mater University of Sheffield
Thesis The spectra of unstable molecules under high resolution (1964)
Known for Buckminsterfullerene
Influences Harry Heaney[1]
Notable awards
Spouse Margaret Henrietta Hunter
Kroto's voice
recorded 2014

Sir Harold Walter Kroto, FRS[2] (born Harold Walter Krotoschiner; 7 October 1939 – 30 April 2016[3]), known as Harry Kroto, was an English chemist. He shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley for their discovery of fullerenes.

Kroto held many positions in academia throughout his life, most notably the Francis Eppes Professor of Chemistry at the Florida State University, which he joined in 2004. Prior to this, he spent a large part of his career at the University of Sussex, where he held an emeritus professorship.[4] Kroto was an early Signatory of Asteroid Day.[5][6]

Early years

Kroto was born in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, England, to Edith and Heinz Krotoschiner,[1][7] with his name being of Silesian origin.[8] His father's family came from Bojanowo, Poland, and his mother's from Berlin, Germany. Both his parents were born in Berlin and came to Great Britain in the 1930s as refugees from the Nazis because his father was Jewish. He was raised in Bolton, Lancashire, England, and attended Bolton School, where he was a contemporary of the highly acclaimed actor Ian McKellen. In 1955, the family name was shortened to Kroto.[1]

As a child, he became fascinated by a Meccano set.[9] Kroto credited Meccano — amongst other things — with developing skills useful in scientific research.[8] 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.

Although raised Jewish, Harry Kroto stated that religion never made any sense to him.[8] He was a humanist who claimed to have three religions: Amnesty Internationalism, atheism, and humor.[10][11][12] He was a distinguished supporter of the British Humanist Association.[13] In 2003 he was one of 22 Nobel Laureates who signed the Humanist Manifesto.[14]

Education and academic career

Education

Kroto was educated at Bolton School and went to the University of Sheffield in 1958, where he obtained a first-class honours BSc degree in Chemistry (1961) and a PhD in Molecular Spectroscopy (1964).[1] During his time at Sheffield he also was the art editor of “Arrows” – the University student magazine, played tennis for the University team (reaching the UAU finals twice) and was President of the Student Athletics Council (1963–64). Among other things such as making the first phosphaalkenes (compounds with carbon phosphorus double bonds), his doctoral studies included 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. He started his work with an interest in organic chemistry, but when he learned about spectroscopy it inclined him towards quantum chemistry; he later developed an interest in astrochemistry.[1]

After obtaining his PhD, Kroto spent two-years in a postdoctoral position at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada carrying out further work in molecular spectroscopy, and also spent the subsequent year at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey (1966–1967) carrying out Raman studies of liquid phase interactions and worked on quantum chemistry. [1]

Research at the University of Sussex

In 1967, Kroto began teaching and research at the University of Sussex in England. During his time at Sussex from 1967 to 1985, he carried out research mainly focused on the spectroscopic studies of new and novel unstable and semi-stable species. This work resulted in the birth of the various fields of new chemistry involving carbon multiply bonded to second and third row elements e.g. S, Se and P. A particularly important breakthrough (with Sussex colleague John Nixon) was the creation of several novel, new phosphorus species detected by microwave spectroscopy. This work resulted in the birth of the field(s) of phosphaalkene and phosphaalkyne chemistry. These species contain carbon double and triple bonded to phosphorus (C=P and C≡P).[15]

In 1975, he became a full professor of Chemistry. This coincided with laboratory microwave measurements with Sussex colleague David Walton on long linear carbon chain molecules, leading to radio astronomy observations with Canadian astronomers revealing the surprising fact that these unusual carbonaceous species existed in relatively large abundances in interstellar space as well as the outer atmospheres of certain stars – the carbon-rich red giants.[16]

Discovery of buckminsterfullerene

In 1985, on the basis of the Sussex studies and the stellar discoveries, laboratory experiments (with co-workers Jim Heath, Sean O’Brien, Yuan Liu, Robert Curl and Rick Smalley at Rice University) which simulated the chemical reactions in the atmospheres of the red giant stars demonstrated that stable C60 molecules could form spontaneously from a condensing carbon vapour.[17]

Buckminsterfullerene, C60

The C60 molecule is a molecule with the same symmetry pattern as a football, consisting of 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons of carbon atoms.[18] Kroto named the molecule buckminsterfullerene, after Buckminster Fuller who had conceived of the geodesic domes, as the dome concept had provided a clue to the likely structure of the new species.[19]

In 1985, the C60 discovery caused Kroto to shift the focus of his research from spectroscopy in order to probe the consequences of the C60 structural concept (and prove it correct) and to exploit the implications for chemistry and material science.[20]

Research at Florida State University

In 2004, Kroto left the University of Sussex to take up a new position as Francis Eppes Professor of Chemistry at Florida State University.[21] At FSU he carried out fundamental research on: Carbon vapour with Professor Alan Marshall;[22][23] Open framework condensed phase systems with strategically important electrical and magnetic behaviour with Professors Naresh Dalal (FSU) and Tony Cheetham (Cambridge);[24] and the mechanism of formation and properties of nano-structured systems.[25][26][27] In addition, he participated in research initiatives at FSU that probed the astrochemistry of fullerenes, metallofullerenes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in stellar/circumstellar space, as well as their relevance to stardust.[28][29][30]

Educational outreach and public service

In 1995, he jointly set up the Vega Science Trust, a UK educational charity that created high quality science films including lectures and interviews with Nobel Laureates, discussion programmes, careers and teaching resources for TV and Internet Broadcast. Vega produced over 280 programmes, that streamed for free from the Vega website which acted as a TV science channel. The trust closed in 2012. [31]

Sir Harold Kroto at CSICON 2011

In 2009, Kroto spearheaded the development of a second science education initiative, Geoset.[32] Short for the Global Educational Outreach for Science, Engineering and Technology, GEOSET is an ever-growing online cache of recorded teaching modules that are freely downloadable to educators and the public. The program aims to increase knowledge of the sciences by creating a global repository of educational videos and presentations from leading universities and institutions.[33]

In 2003, prior to the Blair/Bush invasion of Iraq on the pretext that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Kroto initiated and organised the publication of a letter to be signed by a dozen UK Nobel Laureates and published in the Times. It was composed by his friend the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate the late Sir Joseph Rotblat and published in The Times on 15 February 2003.[34]

He wrote a set of articles, mostly opinion pieces, from 2002–2003 for the Times Higher Education Supplement, a weekly UK publication.[35][36]

From 2002–2004, Kroto served as President of the Royal Society of Chemistry.[37] In 2004, he was appointed to the Francis Eppes Professorship in the chemistry department at Florida State University, carrying out research in nanoscience and nanotechnology.[38]

He spoke at Auburn University on 29 April 2010, and at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University with Robert Curl on 13 October 2010.[39]

In October 2010 Kroto participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival's Lunch with a Laureate program where middle and high school students had the opportunity to engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize–winning scientist.[40]

He spoke at Mahatma Gandhi University, at Kottayam, in Kerala, India in January 2011, where he was an 'Erudite' special invited lecturer of the Government of Kerala, from 5 to 11 January 2011.[41]

Kroto spoke at CSIcon 2011.[42] CSIcon is a convention "dedicated to scientific inquiry and critical thinking" organized by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry in association with Skeptical Inquirer magazine and the Center for Inquiry.[43] He also delivered the IPhO 2012 lecture at the International Physics Olympiad held in Estonia.[44]

In 2014, Kroto spoke at the Starmus Festival in the Canary Islands, delivering a lecture about his life in science, chemistry, and design.[45]

Personal life

In 1963, he married Margaret Henrietta Hunter, also a student of the University of Sheffield at the time. The couple had two sons: Stephen and David. Throughout his entire life, Kroto was a lover of film, theatre, art, and music and published his own artwork.[46]

Kroto was a "devout atheist"[8] who thought that beliefs in immortality derive from lack of the courage to accept human mortality.[1] He was a patron of the British Humanist Association.[47] He was a supporter of Amnesty International.[48] He referred to his view that religious dogma causes people to accept unethical or inhumane actions: "The only mistake Bernie Madoff made was to promise returns in this life."[49] He held that scientists had a responsibility to work for the benefit of the entire species.[50] On 15 September 2010, Kroto, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in The Guardian, stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's state visit to the UK.[51]

Kroto died on 30 April 2016 in Lewes, East Sussex from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at the age of 76.[3][52]

Graphic design

The discovery of buckminsterfullerene caused Kroto to postpone his dream of setting up an art and graphic design studio – he had been doing graphics semi-professionally for years. However, Kroto's graphic design work resulted in numerous posters, letterheads, logos, book/journal covers, medal design, etc. He produced artwork after receiving graphic awards in the Sunday Times Book Jacket Design[53] competition (1964) and the Moet Hennesy/Louis Vuitton Science pour l'Art Prize (1994).[53] Other notable graphical works include the design of the Nobel UK Stamp for Chemistry[54] (2001) and features at the Royal Academy (London) Summer Exhibition (2004).

Honours and awards

Major awards

Kroto was made a Knight Bachelor in the 1996 New Year Honours list.[62]

The University of Sheffield North Campus contains two buildings named after Sir Harry Kroto, The Kroto Innovation Centre and the Kroto Research Institute.[63][64][65]

Honorary degrees

  1. Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)[55]
  2. University of Stockholm (Sweden)[55]
  3. University of Limburg (now Hasselt University) (Belgium)[55]
  4. University of Sheffield (UK)[55]
  5. University of Kingston (UK)[55]
  6. University of Sussex (UK)
  7. University of Helsinki (Finland)
  8. University of Nottingham (UK)
  9. Yokohama City University (Japan)
  10. University of Sheffield-Hallam (UK)
  11. University of Aberdeen (Scotland)
  12. University of Leicester (UK)[66]
  13. University of Aveiro (Portugal)
  14. University of Bielefeld (Germany)
  15. University of Hull (UK)[67]
  16. Manchester Metropolitan University (UK)[68]
  17. Hong Kong City University (HK China)
  18. Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota, US)
  19. University College London (UK)[69]
  20. University of Patras (Greece)
  21. University of Dalhousie (Halifax, NovaScotia, Canada)
  22. University of Strathclyde (Scotland)
  23. University of Manchester (UK)
  24. Kraków Mining University (Poland)
  25. University of Durham (UK)
  26. Queens University Belfast (NI)
  27. University of Surrey (UK)
  28. Polytechnico di Torino (Italy)
  29. University of Chemical Technology – Beijing (China)
  30. University of Liverpool (UK)
  31. Florida Southern College (US)
  32. Keio University (Japan)
  33. University of Chiba (Japan)
  34. University of Bolton (UK)[70]
  35. University of Hartford (US)
  36. University of Tel Aviv (Israel)
  37. University of Poitiers (France)
  38. Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  39. Naresuan University (Thailand)
  40. Vietnam National University (Hanoi)
  41. Edinburgh University (UK)[71]
  42. University of Primorska (Slovenia)

Honorary degrees returned due to closure of Chemistry Departments

  1. Hertfordshire University[72]
  2. Exeter University[73]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Sir Harold Kroto – Nobel Autobiography".
  2. 1 2 3 "Fellows of the Royal Society". London: Royal Society. Archived from the original on 2015-03-16.
  3. 1 2 Davis, Nicola (2 May 2016). "Sir Harry Kroto, Nobel prize-winning chemist, dies at 76". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Harold Kroto: University of Sussex". University of Sussex. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Asteroid Day tries to save life as we know it". The Observer. 13 June 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sir Harry Kroto Official page on Asteroid Day". Asteroid Day.
  7. ↑ Harold Walter Kroto Biography – life, family, parents, name, wife, school, mother, young, born, college, time, year, Studied Chemistry in College. Notablebiographies.com. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Harry Kroto – Autobiography". The Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  9. ↑ "A Round Peg in a Square World". Vega Science Trust. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "Nobel Laureate talk Inspiration, Education, Science – and Snoopy".
  11. ↑ "The Science Studio with Sir Harold Kroto" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "Harry Kroto – quotes".
  13. ↑ "Distinguished supporters". British Humanist Association. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  14. ↑ "Notable Signers". Humanism and Its Aspirations. American Humanist Association. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "The detection of unstable molecules by microwave spectroscopy: phospha-alkenes". Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications: 513. 1976. doi:10.1039/C39760000513.
  16. ↑ "Detection of the Heavy Interstellar Molecule Cyanodiacetylene". The Astrophysical Journal 205: L173. 1976. Bibcode:1976ApJ...205L.173A. doi:10.1086/182117.
  17. ↑ "C60: Buckminsterfullerene". Nature 318 (6042): 162–163. 1985. doi:10.1038/318162a0.
  18. ↑ "Architects of the Microcosmos".
  19. ↑ "C60 – the Celestial Sphere that Fell to Earth".
  20. ↑ "Sir Harold Kroto - Biographical". Nobel Prize. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  21. ↑ "Sir Harold Kroto FSU Profile".
  22. ↑ "Tiny buckyball grown around metal atom".
  23. ↑ "Buckyballs grow by gobbling up carbon".
  24. ↑ "Multiferroic Behavior Associated with an Order−Disorder Hydrogen Bonding Transition in Metal−Organic Frameworks (MOFs) with the Perovskite ABX3 Architecture". Journal of the American Chemical Society 131: 13625–13627. 2009. doi:10.1021/ja904156s.
  25. ↑ "Closed Network Growth of Fullerenes". Nature Communications 3 (5): 855. 2012. doi:10.1038/ncomms1853.
  26. ↑ "Boron vapour trail leads to heterofullerenes".
  27. ↑ "Bottom-up formation of endohedral mono-metallofullerenes is directed by charge transfer". Nature Communications 5: 5844. doi:10.1038/ncomms6844.
  28. ↑ "Metallofullerene and Fullerene Formation from Condensing Carbon Gas under Conditions of Stellar Outflows and Implication to Stardust". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013.
  29. ↑ "Sodium aids metallofullerene formation in stellar outflows". PNAS. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  30. ↑ "Supernova Chemistry". PNAS Science Session Podcast. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  31. ↑ "Vega Science Trust to Close". The Vega Science Trust. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "GEOSET".
  33. ↑ "5 days of opening minds (2013)".
  34. ↑ "Nobel laureates against the war". The Times. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  35. ↑ "Harry Kroto". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  36. ↑ "Abstracts of Kroto's Times Higher Education Articles". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  37. ↑ RSC Presidents 1980 to Present Day. Rsc.org. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  38. ↑ "FSU Profile".
  39. ↑ James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy Rice University | Events | Civic Scientist Lecture – Robert F. Curl Jr., Ph.D., and Sir Harry W. Kroto, Ph.D. Bakerinstitute.org (13 October 2010). Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  40. ↑ Lunch with a Laureate at the Wayback Machine (archived April 21, 2010). usasciencefestival.org
  41. ↑ Erudite. Mgu.ac.in. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  42. ↑ "SCIcon 2011 Speakers". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  43. ↑ "SCIcon Official Site". Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  44. ↑ "UTTV".
  45. ↑ "Sir Harold Kroto and David Eicher join Starmus Festival Board". STARMUS Festival. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  46. ↑
  47. ↑ "Professor Sir Harold Kroto FRS". British Humanist Association. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  48. ↑ "Harry W. Kroto quotes". Goodreads. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  49. ↑ AC Grayling. "The curse of religion". The Guardian.
  50. ↑ "Think About It: Nobel Prize Winner Sir Harold Kroto Throws Down the Gauntlet". Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  51. ↑ "Letters: Harsh judgments on the pope and religion". The Guardian (London). 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
  52. ↑ Nicholas St. Fluer (May 4, 2016). "Harold Kroto, Nobel Prize Winning Chemist, Is Dead at 76". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2016.
  53. 1 2 "Welcome to the Kroto Lab". University of Sussex. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  54. ↑ "Stamp Photos".
  55. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Mark J. Jackson, Waqar Ahmed (2007). Surface Engineered Surgical Tools and Medical Devices. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 587. ISBN 9780387270289.
  56. ↑ "Medal of Achievement in Carbon Science and Technology". The Carbon Society. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  57. 1 2 "Harold Kroto". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  58. ↑ "Kroto wins Faraday Award". University of Sussex. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  59. ↑ "About us". The Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  60. ↑ "Erasmus Medal Winners". The Academia Europaea. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  61. ↑ "Science Society Kavli Lecturers". The Kavli Foundation. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  62. ↑ "Supplement to the London Gazette, 30th December 1995". The London Gazette. 29 December 1995. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
  63. ↑ "Kroto Researach Institute".
  64. ↑ "Kroto Buildings in North Campus of Sheffield". sheffield.ac.uk/northcampus.
  65. ↑ "Kroto Confocal Facility".
  66. ↑ "Packed Programme Of Events For University Of Leicester`s 80th Anniversary". University of Leicester. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  67. ↑ "Honorary Graduates - F to R". University of Hull. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  68. ↑ "Honorary Graduates 1991-2005". Manchester Metropolitan University. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  69. ↑ "Honorary Graduates of UCL". University College London. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  70. ↑ "Public Art students set to honour Sir Harry Kroto". University of Bolton. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  71. ↑ "Professor Sir Harold Walter Kroto Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  72. ↑ "Kroto protests cutbacks".
  73. ↑ "Nobel prize winner joins Exeter closure protest".

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