Science
— NOBEL LAUREATES —
Herbert C. Brown
Herbert C. Brown (HDR S’81), one of the leading American chemists of the 20th century, earned a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1979 for his work with boron compounds. His discoveries at Purdue revolutionized synthetic organic chemistry and opened new avenues in both academic and industrial chemistry.
— NOBEL LAUREATES —
Ei-ichi Negishi
In 2010, Ei-ichi Negishi (HDR S’12), Herbert C. Brown Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing metal-based reactions — palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling — that allow for easy and efficient synthesis of complex organic compounds.
— NOBEL LAUREATES —
Ben Roy Mottelson
American Danish physicist Ben Roy Motelson (S’47, HDR E’68) shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei and the reasons behind such asymmetries. From experiments conducted in collaboration with Aage Bohr, Motleson discovered that the motion of subatomic particles can distort the shape of the nucleus, thus challenging the widely accepted theory that all nuclei are perfectly spherical.
— NOBEL LAUREATES —
Edward Mills Purcell
With two colleagues, Edward Mills Purcell (ECE’33) discovered nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), which helps scientists determine the chemical structure and properties of materials. It is still used today in physics and chemistry. NMR is the principle behind magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), an important medical breakthrough of the 20th century. For this work, he shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics. His detection of radio emission from neutral galactic hydrogen led to the field of radio astronomy. He also contributed to the field of solid-state physics. Purcell was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1979.
— PHYSICS —
Medicinal Breakthrough
Albert Overhauser (HDR S’05), Stuart Distinguished Professor of Physics, developed the theory of dynamic nuclear polarization, which provides the basis for nuclear magnetic resonance techniques used widely in medicine. Overhauser was a member of the National Academy of Science and received the National Medal of Science.
— PHYSICS —
Particle Accelerator
Located underneath the Physics Building, the PRIME Lab (Purdue Rare Isotope Measurement Laboratory) has housed an eight million-volt FN Tandem Van der Graaf accelerator that was provided by the National Science Foundation since 1968. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is a technique for measuring long-lived radionuclides that occur naturally. At the PRIME Lab, scientists measure six different cosmogenic radionuclides. They are used for a wide variety of dating and tracing applications in geological and planetary sciences, archaeology, and biomedicine to determine information such as the age of artifacts or the effect of dietary supplements on osteoporosis. The particle accelerator runs 24/7 due to the vast amount of research being done in each field.
— MATHEMATICS —
Bieberbach Conjecture/de Branges’s Theorem
Currently the Edward C. Elliott Distinguished Professor of Mathematics, Louis de Branges de Bourcia is known for proving the long-standing Bieberbach conjecture, which is now called Branges’ theorem. Born to American parents in Paris, he has been with Purdue since 1962.
— SCIENCE —
Saving Sea Otters
In collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Charles Kirkpatrick (S’38), professor of wildlife biology, studied the physiology of sea otters in the 1950s to determine how they could be kept alive in captivity and then reintroduced to West Coast waters where they had declining populations.
— CHEMISTRY —
Rubber
Adel Halasa (PhD S’64) created the first tire tread polymers for the Goodyear Aquatred, which provided improved traction under wet driving conditions. Halasa also established the first Kuwaiti facilities for use of sulfur in asphalt road applications.