John Corbett (chemist)

John D. Corbett
Born
John Dudley Corbett

(1926-03-23)March 23, 1926
Yakima, Washington
DiedSeptember 2, 2013(2013-09-02) (aged 87)
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Washington
Scientific career
InstitutionsIowa State University
Ames Laboratory
Academic advisorsNorman Wayne Gregory
Doctoral studentsArnold Guloy, Kenneth Poeppelmeier

John Dudley Corbett (March 23, 1926 – September 2, 2013) was an American chemist who specialized in inorganic solid-state chemistry. At Iowa State and Ames Lab, Corbett lead a research group that focused on the synthesis and characterization of two broad classes of materials, notably Zintl phases[1] and condensed transition metal halide clusters.[2][3][4] Both classes of materials are important for their uses, for instance thermoelectrics, and for the theoretical advances they made possible by working to understand their complex bonding and electronic properties.[5][6]

Career

After graduating from Yakima High School, serving in the United States Navy until the end of World War II, and attending the North Dakota Teachers College, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Washington, Corbett remained at Washington to complete his Ph.D. in 1952.[7][8] He joined the chemistry faculty of Iowa State University and the scientific staff of Ames Laboratory in 1953. He was affiliated with both institutions for his entire career, and served as chair of the Department of Chemistry between 1968 and 1973.[9] He was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was awarded two DOE Awards for Outstanding Scientific Accomplishments and Sustained Research in Materials Chemistry, the Humboldt Prize (1985), the 2005 Spedding Award from the Rare Earth Research Conference,[10] the 2008 Monie A. Ferst Award from Sigma Xi, and several ACS Awards for both Inorganic Chemistry and Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry.[11] He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1992.[12][13]

Personal life

Corbett was born to parents Alexander and Elizabeth Corbett in Yakima, Washington, on March 23, 1926, and had two brothers. He was married to F. Irene Lienkaemper from 1948 until her death in 1996.[14] The couple raised three children. Corbett died on September 2, 2013, at the age of 87, following a stroke.[11][7] The John D. Corbett Professorship was established in 2007, within Iowa State University's Department of Chemistry.[11][15]

References

  1. ^ Multiple sources:
    • Corbett, John D. (1985). "Polyatomic Zintl Anions of the Post-Transition Elements". Chemical Reviews. 85 (5): 383–397. doi:10.1021/cr00069a003.
    • Henning, Robert; Leon-Escamilla, E.A.; Zhao, Jing-Tai; Corbett, John D. (1997). "Stabilization by Hydrogen. Synthetic and Structural Studies of the Zintl Phase Ba5Ga6H2". Inorganic Chemistry. 36 (7): 1282–1285. doi:10.1021/ic9612966. PMID 11669703.
    • Mudring, A.V.; Corbett, John D. (2004). "Unusual electronic and bonding properties of the Zintl phase Ca5Ge3 and related compounds. A theoretical analysis". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 126 (16): 5277–5281. doi:10.1021/ja030216b. PMID 15099112. S2CID 27929317.
    • Vaughey, J.T.; Corbett, John D. (1996). "Synthesis and Structure of NaGaSn2. A Zintl Phase with a Helical Framework Structure". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 118 (48): 12098–12103. doi:10.1021/ja961975f.
  2. ^ Corbett, John D. (1981). "Extended metal-metal bonding in halides of the early transition metals". Accounts of Chemical Research. 14 (8): 239–246. doi:10.1021/ar00068a003.
  3. ^ Meyer, Gerd; Hwu, Shiou-Jyh; Wijeyeshekera, Sunil; Corbett, John D. (1986). "Synthetic study of some rare-earth-metal monohalide hydrides MXHx and their alkali-metal intercalates". Inorganic Chemistry. 26 (27): 4811–4818. doi:10.1021/ic00247a007.
  4. ^ Corbett, John D. (1995). "Interstitially-stabilized cluster-based halides of the early transition metals". Journal of Alloys and Compounds. 229: 10–23. doi:10.1016/0925-8388(95)01684-8.
  5. ^ Zheng, Chong; Hoffmann, Roald; Nesper, Reinhard; von Schnering, Hans Georg (1986). "Site preferences and bond length differences in CaAl2Si2-type Zintl compounds". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 108 (8): 1876–1884. doi:10.1021/ja00268a027.
  6. ^ Papoian, G.A.; Hoffmann, Roald (2000). "Hypervalent Bonding in One, Two, and Three Dimensions: Extending the Zintl–Klemm Concept to Nonclassical Electron‐Rich Networks". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 108 (14): 2408–2448. doi:10.1002/1521-3773(20000717)39:14<2408::AID-ANIE2408>3.0.CO;2-U. PMID 10941096.
  7. ^ a b Meyer, Gerd; Mudring, Anja-Verena; Poeppelmeier, Kenneth R. (2013). "John D. Corbett (1926–2013)". Angewandte Chemie. 52: 113513–113514. doi:10.1002/anie.201309705.
  8. ^ Svec, Kathy (July 30, 2021). "Corbett, John Dudley". Iowa State University. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  9. ^ Kauzlarich, Susan M. (2014). "Obituary: John D. Corbett (1926–2013)". Comments on Inorganic Chemistry. 34 (1–2): 1–2. doi:10.1080/02603594.2013.867404. S2CID 98454192.
  10. ^ "Ames Laboratory's John Corbett wins Spedding award". EurekAlert!. March 9, 2005. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c "John D. Corbett | Department of Chemistry". Archived from the original on 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2011-11-22. Alternate URL
  12. ^ "Materials Chemistry and Biomolecular Materials at Ames Laboratory". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
  13. ^ "John D. Corbett". National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  14. ^ "John D. Corbett". C&EN. May 5, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  15. ^ "John Corbett, longtime ISU chemistry professor, passes away". Iowa State University College of Liberals Arts and Sciences. September 4, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2023.