Jack D. Dunitz Explained

Jack D. Dunitz
Birth Name:Jack David Dunitz
Birth Date:1923 3, df=yes[1]
Birth Place:Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Workplaces:ETH Zurich
University of Glasgow
University of Oxford
California Institute of Technology
US National Institute of Health
Royal Institution
Alma Mater:University of Glasgow
Thesis Title:The crystal and molecular structure of acetylene dicarboxylic acid dihydrate and of diacetylene dicarboxylic acid dihydrate
Thesis Url:http://www.theses.com
Thesis Year:1946 submitted, accepted 1947
Doctoral Advisor:J. Monteath Robertson
Academic Advisors:Dorothy Hodgkin
Linus Pauling
Lawrence Bragg
Doctoral Students:Hans-Beat Bürgi
Notable Students:Odile Eisenstein (postdoc)
Keith Hodgson (postdoc)
Known For:Bürgi–Dunitz angle
Spouse:Barbara Steuer

Jack David Dunitz FRS (29 March 1923 – 12 September 2021) was a British chemist and widely known chemical crystallographer. He was Professor of Chemical Crystallography at the ETH Zurich from 1957 until his official retirement in 1990. He held Visiting Professorships in the United States, Israel, Japan, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom.

In 1953 he married Barbara Steuer and had two daughters Marguerite (1955) and Julia Gabrielle (1957).[1]

Education

Born in Glasgow, Dunitz was educated at Hillhead High School and Hutchesons' Grammar School. He went on to study at the University of Glasgow where he gained his Bachelor of Science degree and Doctor of Philosophy in 1947.[2]

He held research fellowships at Oxford University (1946–1948, 1951–1953), the California Institute of Technology (1948–1951, 1953–1954), the US National Institutes of Health, Bethesda MD (1954–1955), and the Royal Institution, London (1956–1957).[3]

Research

Dunitz's main research direction involved the use of crystal structure analysis as tool for studying chemical problems. In his early pre-ETH period, his work included structure studies of cyclobutane,[4] of ferrocene with the first description of its electronic structure in terms of orbital symmetry relationships.[5] [6] With Leslie Orgel he also explained distortions of certain spinel minerals from cubic symmetry in terms of the Jahn-Teller effect.[7] In his later research, at the ETH Zurich and after, Dunitz worked in several areas of structural chemistry, including the conformation and reactivity of medium-ring cycloalkanes and lactams,[8] [9] ion-specificity of natural and synthetic ionophores,[10] [11] [12] chemical reaction paths (see Bürgi-Dunitz angle),[13] [14] [15] aspects of hydrogen bonding,[16] [17] [18] molecular motions in solids,[19] [20] [21] [22] phase transformations and solid-state chemical reactions,[23] [24] electron density distributions in crystals,[25] [26] polymorphism,[27] and intermolecular interactions in condensed phases.[28] [29] A few other publications on mathematical or theoretical topics may be of interest.[30] [31] [32] [33] [34] Dunitz was also known for Dunitz's Rule: "Almost every scientific publication can be improved by cutting out the first sentence".

Awards and honours

Dunitz was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974.[35] Dunitz was a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina since 1979,[36] the Academia Europaea since 1989[37] and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He was also a foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1979[38] and an international member of the US National Academy of Sciences since 1988[39] and the American Philosophical Society since 1997.[40] He was an international honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 1997.[41] He was an Honorary Member of the Swiss Society of Crystallography,[42] the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Swiss Chemical Society, and the British Crystallographic Association.[43]

Dunitz was the recipient of the Paracelsus Prize[44] of the Swiss Chemical Society[45] (1986), the Gregori Aminoff Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1990), the M.J. Buerger Award of the American Crystallographic Association[46] (1991). He was the first recipient of the Havinga Medal[47] in 1980, and also received the Bijvoet Medal at the University of Utrecht Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research in 1989.[48]

Dunitz held honorary doctorates from the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa) (1990), the Weizmann Institute of Science (1992) and the University of Glasgow (1999).

Publications

Dunitz wrote more than 380 scientific papers and was the author of "X-Ray Analysis and the Structure of Organic Molecules" (Cornell University Press, 1979; Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta, Basel, 1995), and "Reflections on Symmetry in Chemistry...and Elsewhere" (with Edgar Heilbronner, Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta, Basel, 1993). He was Co-Editor (with J. A. Ibers) of "Perspectives in Structural Chemistry", John Wiley and Sons, Vols. 1–4 (1967– 1971) and (with H.-B. Bürgi) of the two-volume "Structure Correlation", Verlag Chemie, Weinheim, 1994.

Death

Dunitz died on 12 September 2021, at the age of 98 after a short illness.[49]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: DUNITZ, Prof. Jack David . Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press .
  2. PhD . Jack. Dunitz . The crystal and molecular structure of acetylene dicarboxylic acid dihydrate and of diacetylene dicarboxylic acid dihydrate . University of Glagow . 2012 . Jack D. Dunitz.
  3. Web site: Dunitz web page at ETH Zurich. 6 February 2014.
  4. 10.1063/1.1700271. 1952JChPh..20.1703D. The Molecular Structure of Cyclobutane. The Journal of Chemical Physics. 20. 11. 1703. 1952. Dunitz . J. D.. Schomaker . V. .
  5. 10.1038/171121a0. 1953Natur.171..121D. Bis-cyclopentadienyl Iron: A Molecular Sandwich. Nature. 171. 4342. 121. 1953. Dunitz . J. D.. Orgel . L. E.. 4263761.
  6. J. D. Dunitz, "Forty Years of Ferrocene", in: M. V. Kisak¸rek, ed., Organic Chemistry: Its Language and its State of the Art, Basel: Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta, 1993, pp. 9–24
  7. 10.1016/0022-3697(57)90043-4. Electronic properties of transition-metal oxides—I. Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids. 3. 20–29. 1957. Dunitz . J. D. . Orgel . L. E. . 1–2 . 1957JPCS....3...20D.
  8. 10.1351/pac197125030495. Conformation of medium rings. Pure and Applied Chemistry. 25. 3. 1971. Dunitz . J. D.. 495–508. free.
  9. 10.1107/S0567740875002427. Amide group deformation in medium-ring lactams. Acta Crystallographica Section B. 31. 251–263. 1975. Dunitz . J. D.. Winkler . F. K.. 1. 1975AcCrB..31..251D.
  10. 10.1016/0022-2836(67)90370-1. 5598211. Structure of the K+ complex with nonactin, a macrotetrolide antibiotic possessing highly specific K+ transport properties. Journal of Molecular Biology. 30. 3. 559–63. 1967. Kilbourn . B. T. . Dunitz . J. D. . Pioda . L. A. R. . Simon . W..
  11. 10.1002/hlca.19710540419. 5095215. Crystal Structure of the Antibiotic Monensin Similarities and Differences between Free Acid and Metal Complex. Helvetica Chimica Acta. 54. 4. 1103–8. 1971. Lutz . W. K.. Winkler . F. K.. Dunitz . J. D..
  12. Dunitz . J. D. . Hawley . D. M. . Miklos . D. . White . D. N. J. . Berlin . Y. . Marusić . R. . Prelog . V. . 10.1002/hlca.19710540624 . Structure of boromycin . Helvetica Chimica Acta . 54 . 6 . 1709–1713 . 1971 . 5131791 .
  13. 10.1021/ja00796a058. Geometrical reaction coordinates. II. Nucleophilic addition to a carbonyl group. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 95. 15. 5065. 1973. Burgi . H. B.. Dunitz . J. D.. Shefter . E. .
  14. 10.1021/ja00401a011. Chemical reaction paths. 7. Pathways for SN2 and SN3 substitution at tin(IV). Journal of the American Chemical Society. 103. 11. 2971. 1981. Britton . D. . Dunitz . J. D. .
  15. Buergi . H. B. . Dunitz . J. D. . 10.1021/ar00089a002 . From crystal statics to chemical dynamics . Accounts of Chemical Research . 16 . 5 . 153 . 1983 .
  16. 10.1039/jr9530003740. 764. The structure of the hydrogen maleate anion : A symmetric hydrogen bond?. Journal of the Chemical Society (Resumed). 3740. 1953. Cardwell . H. M. E.. Dunitz . J. D.. Orgel . L. E..
  17. 10.1002/anie.198711751. Observation of an Eclipsed Csp3-CH3 Bond in a Tricyclic Orthoamide; Experimental and Theoretical Evidence for CH⃛O Hydrogen Bonds. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 26. 11. 1175. 1987. Seiler . P. . Weisman . G. R. . Glendening . E. D. . Weinhold . F. . Johnson . V. B. . Dunitz . J. D. .
  18. 10.1002/chem.19970030115. Organic Fluorine Hardly Ever Accepts Hydrogen Bonds. Chemistry: A European Journal. 3. 89–98. 1997. Dunitz . J. D. . Taylor . R. .
  19. 10.1107/S0567740882008358. Temperature dependence of thermal motion in crystalline naphthalene. Acta Crystallographica Section B. 38. 8. 2218. 1982. Brock . C. P.. Dunitz . J. D.. 1982AcCrB..38.2218B.
  20. 10.1080/00268978700102321. 1987MolPh..62..451M. Rotation barriers in crystals from atomic displacement parameters. Molecular Physics. 62. 2. 451. 1987. Maverick . E. . Dunitz . J. D. .
  21. 10.1021/j100315a002. Interpretation of atomic displacement parameters from diffraction studies of crystals. The Journal of Physical Chemistry. 92. 4. 856. 1988. Dunitz . J. D. . Schomaker . V. . Trueblood . K. N. .
  22. 10.1002/anie.198808801. Atomic Motions in Molecular Crystals from Diffraction Measurements. Angewandte Chemie International Edition in English. 27. 7. 880. 1988. Dunitz . J. D. . Maverick . E. F. . Trueblood . K. N. .
  23. 10.1107/S0108768194012036. Phase changes and chemical reactions in molecular crystals. Acta Crystallographica Section B. 51. 4. 619–631. 1995. Dunitz . J. D.. 1995AcCrB..51..619D.
  24. 10.1002/hlca.201200339. Dl-Ribose Crystal Structures: The Glass Crystal Transformation. Helvetica Chimica Acta. 95. 10. 1687. 2012. Zandomeneghi . G. . Schweizer . W. B. . Gilmour . R. . Meier . B. H. . Dunitz . J. D. .
  25. 10.1002/hlca.19830660113. X-Ray Study of the Deformation Density in Tetrafluoroterephthalodinitrile: Weak Bonding Density in the C, F-Bond. Helvetica Chimica Acta. 66. 123–133. 1983. Dunitz . J. D. . Schweizer . W. B. . Seiler . P. .
  26. 10.1002/hlca.19860690518. Are ionic solids really built of ions? New evidence from x-ray diffraction. Helvetica Chimica Acta. 69. 5. 1107. 1986. Seiler . P. . Dunitz . J. D. .
  27. Dunitz . J. D. . Bernstein . J. . 10.1021/ar00052a005 . Disappearing Polymorphs . Accounts of Chemical Research . 28 . 4 . 193 . 1995 .
  28. 10.1039/b822963p. 19690742. How molecules stick together in organic crystals: Weak intermolecular interactions. Chemical Society Reviews. 38. 9. 2622–33. 2009. Dunitz . J. D. . Gavezzotti . A. .
  29. 10.1021/cg401646t. 'Coulombic Compression', a Pervasive Force in Ionic Solids. A Study of Anion Stacking in Croconate Salts. Crystal Growth & Design. 14. 357–366. 2014. Dunitz . J. D.. Gavezzotti . A.. Rizzato . S..
  30. Dunitz. J. D.. Waser, J.. The Planarity of the Equilateral Isogonal Pentagon. Elemente der Mathematik. 1972. 27. 25–32.
  31. 10.1021/ja00771a018. Geometric constraints in six- and eight-membered rings. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 94. 16. 5645. 1972. Dunitz . J. D.. Waser . J..
  32. 10.1039/c39720000568. Non-empirical SCF calculations on hydrogen-like molecules: The effect of nuclear charge on binding energy and bond length. Journal of the Chemical Society, Chemical Communications. 9. 568. 1972. Dunitz . J. D.. Ha . T. K..
  33. 10.1038/384320a0. 1996Natur.384..320S. Even–odd carbon atom disparity. Nature. 384. 6607. 320. 1996. Sarma . J. A. R. P. . Nangia . A. . Desiraju . G. R. . Zass . E. . Dunitz . J. D. . 44969482. free .
  34. 10.1002/anie.200800063. Is Deuterium Always Smaller than Protium?. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 47. 22. 4208–10. 2008. Dunitz . J. D. . Ibberson . R. M. . 18412199.
  35. Web site: Jack Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20200815111356/https://royalsociety.org/people/jack-dunitz-11363/ . Royal Society . 15 August 2020.
  36. Web site: Prof. Dr. Jack David Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20201105225851/https://www.leopoldina.org/mitgliederverzeichnis/mitglieder/member/Member/show/jack-david-dunitz/ . de . German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina . 5 November 2020.
  37. Web site: Jack Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20190328131749/https://www.ae-info.org/ae/Member/Dunitz_Jack . Academia Europaea . 28 March 2019.
  38. Web site: J.D. Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20200811162637/https://www.knaw.nl/en/members/foreign-members/4066 . Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences . 11 August 2020.
  39. Web site: Jack D. Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20190324140742/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/8891.html . National Academy of Sciences . 24 March 2019.
  40. Web site: Dr. Jack David Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20201105230718/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Dunitz&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced . American Philosophical Society . 5 November 2020.
  41. Web site: Jack David Dunitz . https://web.archive.org/web/20201105225407/https://www.amacad.org/person/jack-david-dunitz . American Academy of Arts and Sciences . 5 November 2020.
  42. Web site: SSCR webpage of the Swiss Society for Crystallography. 14 March 2014.
  43. Web site: British Crystallographic Association. 14 March 2014.
  44. Web site: Paracelsus Prize. 14 March 2014. 7 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200807154854/https://scg.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=89&Itemid=587&lang=en. dead.
  45. Web site: Swiss Chemical Society Homepage. 14 March 2014.
  46. Web site: American Crystallographic Association Homepage. 14 March 2014.
  47. Web site: Laureates Havinga Foundation. 14 March 2014.
  48. Web site: Bijvoet Medal. Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research. 12 September 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170912191415/http://bijvoet-center.eu/bijvoet-medal/. 12 September 2017. dead.
  49. Web site: Jack Dunitz deceased. ETH Zürich . 16 September 2021. 13 September 2021.

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