Obituary of Jacob Bigeleisen

Jacob Bigeleisen, 91, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, State University of New York, Stony Brook died of pulmonary disease on August 6. A long term member of APS, Bigeleisen was born in Paterson, NJ. His parents were immigrants from Poland and at the age of 12, he was apprenticed to his father as a furrier. At the age of 15, Bigeleisen rebelled and asked to attend college. His father assumed he meant rabbinical school. But after much protest, Bigeleisen matriculated at New York University. After his first year, he was out of money. Richard Courant arranged for Bigeleisen to receive a scholarship with the understanding that he would major in mathematics.

Bigeleisen received his undergraduate degree from New York University (AB 1939) in chemistry. He applied for graduate school, but was turned down every where he applied, despite receiving the award for the outstanding physics and chemistry student in his class. Harold Urey took an interest in Bigeleisen’s situation and made special arrangements for him to study with Otto Redlich at Washington State University. After graduate studies with Redlich (M.S. 1941), and The 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.

At the Manhattan Project (1943-5) Bigeleisen conducted experimental studies on the vibrational states of uranium compounds and joined with Maria Goeppert Mayer in developing a statistical mechanical theory of equilibrium isotope chemistry. That theory, published in 1947 is now referred to as the Bigeleisen Mayer equation. It provided new insight into the origins of isotope chemistry and opened applications in such diverse fields as isotope separation technology, molecular structure, and geochemistry. It was later extended to condensed phase isotope effects in solids and liquids. In 1949, Bigeleisen reformulated this theory for non-equilibrium systems. This theory (kinetic isotope effects) is now widely employed in studies of reaction mechanisms in physical organic chemistry and enzyme biochemistry.

After World War II 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, 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 Chemical Physics, and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. He was active in the division of Chemical Physics APS, the division of Physical Chemistry ACS, 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) ( now the Seaborg award) and the E. O. Lawrence Memorial Award from the United States Atomic Energy Commision (1964) (now the Department of Energy). 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 continued research and publications in the field of isotope chemistry well past his eightieth birthday. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Grace; and sons David, Paul, and Ira.

Jacob Bigeleisen, Isotope Chemist on Manhattan Project, Dies at 91

New York Times