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Biographical Memoirs Volume 88 (2006) / Chapter Skim
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Herbert Sander Gutowsky
Pages 158-173

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From page 159...
... use of NMR to study chemical exchange and molecular conformational changes. In particular, the discovery of chemical shifts and spinspin splitting, established the foundations of the vast field of high-resolution NMR spectroscopy, which developed into an indispensable tool for the determination of chemical, biochemical, and biological molecular structures.
From page 160...
... In fact, at one point Herb considered becoming an astronomer. He joined the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps at Indiana University and particularly enjoyed being a member of the precision drill team.
From page 161...
... Before the overview of Gutowsky's major scientific accomplishments, a few remarks about his personal life and hobbies are appropriate. Herb's intense work habits left some time for his hobbies of bird watching and cycling.
From page 162...
... thesis was on infrared investigations. However, as a result of a lunch discussion Kistiakowsky had with the physicist Edward Purcell, whose student George Pake had just discovered structure on the proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum of water hydration in gypsum, Gutowsky and Kistiakowsky decided to add a section to Gutowsky's thesis employing NMR to determine the structure of the molecule diborane.
From page 163...
... Also, in early 1950 Proctor and Yu reported chemical shifts between the 14N resonances in the NH4 , CN-, and NO3 ions, and + Dickinson found shifts for fluorine in several compounds. So we turned our interest to chemical shifts in liquids, which we could readily observe for 19F.
From page 164...
... We convinced ourselves of them in June 30, 1950, when Bob found small but reproducible shifts, several time larger than experimental error, between the protons in benzene, mineral oil, and aqueous solutions of strong acids. At this stage, we started a major effort on improving the homogeneity of the magnetic field by plotting it and hand polishing the pole tips in those areas where the magnetic field was high.
From page 165...
... In our subsequent characterization during 1951 of this scalar or indirect coupling of nuclear spins, we were able to show that the "slow beats" observed by Erwin Hahn in proton spin echoes originate from the multiplets we had found in steady-state fluorine spectra. Furthermore, we turned up some anomalies which clued us in on the importance of chemical exchange in determining the observability of such splittings.
From page 166...
... In their paper on multiplets Gutowsky, McCall, and Slichter worked out the mathematical theory of a resonance multiplet arising from a nucleus that could precess at either of two rates and whose precession frequency could jump from one to the other as a result, or example, of chemical exchange or some relaxation process. They showed how the multiplet collapsed as the exchange or relaxation became more rapid.
From page 167...
... Gutowsky's group continued to work in the area of chemical exchange, utilizing the spin- echo technique to extend greatly the range of rates that could be studied by NMR. Herb Gutowsky also realized very early that NMR would have many applications in studies of complex biochemical and biological systems.
From page 168...
... Dykstra for his helpful comments. PRINCIPAL AWARDS AND HONORS 1954 Guggenheim fellow 1960 Member of the National Academy of Science 1964 Krug Lecturer, University of Illinois 1966 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics, American Chemical Society 1974 Award of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance 1975 Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry, American Chemical Society 1976 G
From page 169...
... Indiana University 1982 Member of the American Philosophical Society 1984 Wolff Prize in Chemistry 1991 Chemical Pioneer Award, American Institute of Chemists 1992 Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award, Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh NOTES 1. Speech at the Fifth International Symposium on Magnetic Resonance, Bombay, India, January 1974, quoted in J
From page 170...
... Holm. Rate processes and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra.
From page 171...
... NMR studies of conforma tional equilibria in substituted ethanes.
From page 172...
... Rice. Deuterium nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of the effects of proteins and polypep tides on hydrocarbon chain order in model membrane systems.
From page 173...
... Rotational spectra, structures, and dynamics of small Arm-(H2O) n clusters: The Ar2-H2O trimer.


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