Letters to the editor on pivotal moments in US chemistry

I read with great interest the article by Elizabeth Quill, “6 Pivotal Moments in 250 Years of US Chemistry.” It was a fantastic overview of the key moments and contributions of the great chemists in our history. I personally enjoyed reading about the contributions of both the University of Illinois and Benjamin Rush, namesake of Rush Medical College, as those schools are my alma maters.

I do understand the space limitations of including the many great chemists during the historical periods of time covered. However, on a further personal consider, I do feel that a renowned chemist with a critical role in World War II was left out: Morris S. Kharasch from the University of Chicago (my great-uncle). He revolutionized the field of organic chemistry with his discovery of free-radical chemistry. This work led to an enormous body of discoveries. He also founded the Journal of Organic Chemistry (1936) and was nominated to the Nobel Prize (which he did not receive because of his untimely death).

Importantly, his contributions to the synthetic rubber project, which is discussed in your article, were profound. His work on manufacturing polymerization reactions of unsaturated hydrocarbons led to the mass production of synthetic rubber, which was negligible in 1941 and reached well over a half a million metric tons annually by 1945. Additionally, his work on overcoming the formation of popcorn polymers that resulted from uncontrolled free-radical branching significantly improved production reliability. Without question, his work was instrumental in the establishment of a robust domestic synthetic rubber sector, averting economic and military crises by replacing natural rubber.

Sigmund J. Kharasch, MD Newton, Massachusetts

greater pivotal moments

I enjoyed reading the July C&EN cover story, “6 Pivotal Moments in 250 Years of US Chemistry.” However, the significant research of the field of physical chemistry as an crucial branch of chemistry is not fully highlighted. This was first formalized in the US through a systematic research of classical thermodynamics by Josiah Willard Gibbs (Yale University) in the late 19th century and carried through to the end of the 20th century by Nobelist Ahmed Zewail (California Institute of methodology) with a detailed conclusion, using ultrafast pulsed laser methodology, to the fundamental question of how long it takes to a chemical bond to break.

On a different consider, Percy Julian (DePauw University and the Glidden Company) is another pioneer in medicinal and natural product chemistry, responsible to a pivotal moment in the US when he developed some of the earliest affordable drugs to glaucoma and rheumatoid arthritis in the 1940s.

Rama Viswanathan Beloit, Wisconsin