Willis H. Flygare
Willis H. Flygare (July 24, 1936 – May 18, 1981) was an American physical chemist and professor at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. [1] [2][3]
Background
[edit]Flygare was born in Jackson, Minnesota. He was the son of Willis B. and Doris H. Flygare, both of whom were of Scandinavian descent. He attended St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, from which he graduated in 1958 with majors in chemistry, physics, and mathematics. He later attended graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley, earning his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1961.[4][5]
Career
[edit]Flygare became a professor of chemistry at the University of Illinois in 1961 and stayed in that position until his premature death at age 44 of Lou Gehrig disease. Flygare is credited with "outstanding contributions to the understanding of molecular electronic structure".[2]
He invented a highly sensitive pulsed-beam, Fourier-transform microwave spectrometer.[2]
He also developed a new method based on the molecular Zeeman effect for measurements of molecular quadrupole moments and magnetic susceptibility anisotropies.[2]
He received Irving Langmuir Award in 1981.[1]
Flygare was a professor of chemistry at Illinois,[2] a member of the National Academy of Sciences.[1][2]
The University of Illinois established lectures in his name and a memorial fund.[6]
The University of Illinois called him "one of the most creative and dynamic physical chemists in the world."[2]
The National Academies Press called him "a great physical chemist".[1]
Awards and distinctions
[edit]- Guggenheim Fellowships in 1972 and 1978[2]
- Phi Lambda Upsilon Fresenius Award in 1971[2][7]
- Baekeland Medal in 1973[2]
- Irving Langmuir Award in 1981[2]
- elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1974[2]
- honorary doctorate from St. Olaf College in 1976[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d National Academies Press, Biographical Memoirs,Willis H. Flygare,By David Chandler
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Chemistry at Illinois,Flygare Memorial Lectures, About Willis H. Flygare
- ^ "Willis Flygare". Array of Contemporary American Physicists. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ David Chandler (2005). Willis H. Flygare July 24, 1936–May 18, 1981. nap.edu. doi:10.17226/11429. ISBN 978-0-309-09304-0. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
- ^ "About Willis H. Flygare". The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois. Archived from the original on April 13, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
- ^ The Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, The Willis H. Flygare Memorial Fund
- ^ Phi Lambda Upsilon:Award Recipients
External links
[edit]- David Chandler, "Willis H. Flygare", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2005)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1936 births
- 1981 deaths
- People from Jackson, Minnesota
- American physical chemists
- Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
- St. Olaf College alumni
- University of California, Berkeley alumni
- University of Illinois faculty
- Neurological disease deaths in Illinois
- Deaths from motor neuron disease in the United States
- American people of Norwegian descent
- Fellows of the American Physical Society
- 20th-century American chemists