Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer (January 6, 1914 – December 26, 1997) was an American physical and theoretical chemist, educator, and university president.[3] He was described as "one of the most influential physical chemists of his era" whose work "spanned almost all of the important fields of physical chemistry: thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, molecular structure, quantum mechanics, spectroscopy, chemical bonding, relativistic chemical effects, properties of concentrated aqueous salt solutions, kinetics, and conformational analysis."[4]
Pitzer was the third president of Rice University from 1961 until 1968 and sixth president of Stanford University from 1969 until 1971. His tenure at Stanford was turbulent due to student protests.[6] Worn out by the confrontations, he announced his resignation in 1970 after a 19-month tenure. He returned to UC Berkeley in 1971. He retired in 1984, but continued research until his death.
As a scientist, Pitzer was known for his work on the thermodynamic properties of molecules.[10][11][12] While still a graduate student he discovered that hydrocarbon molecules do not rotate unhindered around their C-C bonds. There is in fact a barrier to internal rotation, an important discovery upsetting the conventional wisdom and affecting the thermodynamic properties of hydrocarbons.[4] Some of his work is summed up in the Pitzer equations describing the behavior of ions dissolved in water.[4] During his long career he won many awards, most notably the National Medal of Science and the Priestley Medal. The Ohio Supercomputing System named their new cluster Pitzer in honour of Kenneth Pitzer.[13]
In the public hearing that led to the revocation of Robert Oppenheimer's security clearance, Pitzer testified about his policy differences with Oppenheimer concerning the development of thermonuclear weapons.[14]
Rossini, Frederick D.; Pitzer, Kenneth S.; Arnett, Raymond L.; Braun, Rita M.; Pimentel, George C. (1953). Selected Values of Physical and Thermodynamic Properties of Hydrocarbons and Related Compounds: Comprising the Tables of the American Petroleum Institute Research Project 44 Extant as of December 31, 1952. Pittsburgh: Carnegie Press.
Pitzer, Kenneth S. (1953). Quantum Chemistry. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Pitzer, Kenneth S. (1995). Thermodynamics (third ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN0-07-050221-8. With acknowledgment to Gilbert Newton Lewis and Merle Randall, authors of the first edition, and to Leo Brewer, coauthor of the second edition.
^ abcE. Connick, Robert E. Connick (December 2000). "Kenneth Pitzer, 6 January 1914 · 26 December 1997". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 14 (4): 479–483. JSTOR1515624.
^Pitzer, Kenneth S., ed. (1993). Molecular Structure and Statistical Thermodynamics: Selected Papers of Kenneth S. Pitzer. World Scientific Series in 20th Century Chemistry. Vol. 1. Singapore: World Scientific. ISBN981-02-1439-1.
^Rard, Joseph A. (1999). "Memorial Tribute Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer 1914-1997". Journal of Solution Chemistry. 28 (4): 247–264. doi:10.1023/A:1022619709105. S2CID189864882.
