 Dr. Jacob Bigeleisen, 91, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, State University of New York at Stony Brook, died of pulmonary disease on August 7, 2010. Bigeleisen was born in Paterson, NJ. He received his undergraduate degree from New York University (AB 1939). After graduate studies at Washington State University (MS 1941), where he worked with Otto Redlich, he went to University of California, Berkeley (PhD 1943), where he was one of the last students of G. N. Lewis. He joined the Manhattan Project at Columbia University in 1943. Bigeleisen held postdoctoral fellowships at Ohio State University (1945-6) and the University of Chicago (1946-8), before joining the Chemistry Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory (1948-68). He then moved to the University of Rochester (1968-78, Chairman 1970-75, Tracey Harris Professor 1973-8), and finally The State University of New York at Stony Brook (Vice President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies 1978-80, Leading Professor of Chemistry 1978-89, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus 1989-2010). At various times, Bigeleisen served as Associate Editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry, and the Journal of Chemical Physics. He was active in the division of Physical Chemistry ACS, the division of Chemical Physics APS, and the Gordon Conferences where he organized the first conference on isotope chemistry (1958) and was Trustee (1968-71) and Chairman of the Board (1970-1). Among many other honors he was the recipient of the first ACS Award in Nuclear Chemistry (1958) and the E. O. Lawrence Memorial Award from the US AEC (1964). He was an NSF Senior Postdoctoral Fellow (1962-3) and a Guggenheim Fellow (1974-5). Bigeleisen was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1966 and served as Chairman of the Chemistry Division (1971-4), and the Assembly of Mathematical and Physical Sciences (1976-80). He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Physical Society. During his long career, Bigeleisen introduced many postdoctoral and graduate students to the field of isotope chemistry. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Grace; and sons David, Paul, and Ira.
 Dr. Ken Dill becomes the Director of the newly endowed Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology at Stony Brook University. Dr. Dill will hold joint appointments in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Prof. Clare Grey has been named the 2010 recipient of the John Jeyes Award by the Royal Society of Chemistry, "in recognition of her world leadership role in the use of solid-state NMR methods to study structure and function in inorganic materials and specifically for the development and application of novel NMR methods to study structure and dynamics in lithium-ion battery materials." Ref: RSC News, Aug 2010, p. 15.
 Professors Stanislaus Wong and Iwao Ojima were recently recognized for their discoveries and innovations at the First Annual Inventor's Reception hosted by Mark Lesko, the Town of Brookhaven Supervisor. The Town of Brookhaven's First Annual Inventor's Reception took place at the Flowerfield in St. James on Wednesday, June 23, honoring the scientific achievements of the 2009 patent holders from Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Professor Wong was recognized for his three patents entitled "Ternary Oxide Nanostructures and Methods of making Same" (U.S. Patent Number: 7,585,474), "Metal Oxide and Metal Fluoride Nanostructures and Methods of Making Same" (U.S Patent 7,575,735), and "Methods for Osmylating and Ruthenylating Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes" (US Patent 7,481,990). Professor Ojima was recognized for his patent entitled "Anti-Tuberculosis Taxane Compounds" (U.S. Patent 7,615,653) . The Keynote Speakers of the ceremony among others were Dr. Samuel Stanley, President of SBU and Dr. Samuel Aronson, Director of BNL.
(Left to Right: Dr. Ojima, Dr. Stanley, and Dr. Wong)
Did you know...?
Chemical and Engineering News has come out with the 2007 report on research spending by chemistry departments. Stony Brook ranked 28th nationally on overall spending on chemical research and development, up from #46 in 2006. Our ten-year rate of growth (10.2%) outpaces all but a handful of universities. We ranked 47th overall in purely federal chemistry research funding in 2007.
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