Dudley R. Herschbach
National Medal of Science
Chemistry
For his seminal contributions to the fundamental understanding of reactions of atoms and molecules, collision by collision.
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Birth
June 18, 1932Age Awarded
59Country of Birth
USAKey Contributions
Crossed Molecular Beam Experiment TechniqueAwarded by
George H. W. BushEducation
Stanford UniversityHarvard University
Areas of Impact
Theory & FoundationsAffiliations
Harvard UniversityOther Prizes
Nobel PrizeDuring a visit to his grandmother’s house, Dudley R. Herschbach found an issue of National Geographic when he was 9 years old. It was an article on astronomy that Herschbach says sparked his interest in science, and he spent many nights afterwards drawing star maps.
Herschbach went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Physics and a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at Harvard University. He focused his research on molecular beams, performing "crossed molecular beam" experiments. Herschbach and his colleagues developed a "supermachine" that extended the scope of crossed-beam experiments to analyze more complex chemical reactions.
The experiments showed that scientists could use molecular beams to understand the specific mechanisms of a chemical reaction, such as the orientations of the colliding molecules. Herschbach’s discovery provided important knowledge that allows researchers to integrate information across the fields of chemistry, physics, and biology.
By Jennifer Santisi