弗兰克·阿尔伯特·科顿1930—2007

早年生活与教育

科顿（笔名“艾尔”·科顿或“F·艾伯特”）于1930年4月9日出生于宾夕法尼亚州费城。他先后就读当地公立学校，随后进入费城卓克索大学及天普大学深造。 1951年于天普大学取得文学学士 (BA)学位后，科顿赴哈佛大学师从杰弗里·威尔金森爵士攻读博士学位，研究领域为茂金属。他于1955年获得博士学位。

F.A. 科顿化学研究卓越奖章

F.A. 科顿奖章创立于1994年，由美国化学学会德州农工大学分会每年颁发，旨在表彰研究领域的卓越成就，而非其他任何类型的杰出贡献——无论其功绩多么显赫。此奖项由F. 艾伯特·科顿捐赠基金赞助，该基金最初由卡洛斯·A·穆里略筹募，旨在纪念首届得主法兰克·艾伯特·科顿（1995年获颁首枚奖章）。获奖者除奖章外，另获颁奖章青铜复制品及载明奖项内容之证书。.

Frank Albert Cotton FRS (April 9, 1930 – February 20, 2007) was an American chemist. He was the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. He authored over 1600 scientific articles. Cotton was recognized for his research on the chemistry of the transition metals.

Early life and education

Cotton, known as "Al" Cotton, or "F Albert" on publications, was born on April 9, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended local public schools before attending Drexel University and then Temple University, both in Philadelphia. After earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from Temple in 1951, Cotton pursued a Ph.D. thesis under the guidance of Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson at Harvard University where he worked on metallocenes. He received his Ph.D. in 1955.

Career

Following his graduation from Harvard University, Cotton began teaching at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1961, at 31-years-old, he became the youngest person to have received a full professorship at MIT. His work emphasized both electronic structure and chemical synthesis. He pioneered the study of multiple bonding between transition metal atoms, starting with research on rhenium halides, and in 1964 identified the quadruple bond in the Re2Cl2−8 ion. His work soon focused on other metal-metal bonded species, elucidating the structure of chromium(II) acetate.

He was an early proponent of single crystal X-ray diffraction as a tool for elucidating the extensive chemistry of metal complexes.

Pedagogical influence

In addition to his research, Cotton taught inorganic chemistry. He authored Chemical Applications of Group Theory. This text focuses on group theoretical analysis of bonding and spectroscopy.

Among college students, Cotton is perhaps best known as the coauthor of the textbook Advanced Inorganic Chemistry, now in its sixth English edition. Coauthored with his thesis advisor, Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, and now with coauthors Carlos Murillo and Manfred Bochmann, the textbook is colloquially known as "Cotton and Wilkinson." The text surveys coordination chemistry, cluster chemistry, homogeneous catalysis, and organometallic chemistry.

Cotton served on various editorial boards of scientific journals, including those of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Inorganic Chemistry, and Organometallics.

Recognition

Among the awards Cotton received included the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1982, the Wolf Prize in 2000; and the Priestley Medal, the American Chemical Society's highest recognition, in 1998.

In 1995, the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M along with the local section of the American Chemical Society, inaugurated the annual F.A. Cotton Medal for excellence in chemical research.

A second award named in his honor, the F. Albert Cotton Award for Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry, is presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society each year.

Cotton was a member of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States, and the corresponding academies in Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Denmark, as well as the American Philosophical Society.

Run for ACS presidency

Cotton caused a controversy in his run for President of the American Chemical Society for 1984, wherein he mailed a letter to selected members describing his opponent as "a mediocre industrial chemist". Cotton ultimately lost the bid to his opponent Dr. Warren D. Niederhauser of Rohm & Haas.

F.A. Cotton Medal for Excellence in Chemical Research

The F.A. Cotton Medal, established in 1994, is awarded annually by the Texas A&M Section of the American Chemical Society to recognize accomplishments in research rather than distinction of any other sort, no matter how meritorious. The award is sponsored by the F. Albert Cotton Endowment Fund, which was initially raised by Carlos A. Murillo in honor of Frank Albert Cotton, to whom the first medal was awarded in 1995. The recipient receives, in addition to the medal, a bronze replica thereof and a certificate describing the award.

Prize Winners of F. A. Cotton Medal

Source: Texas A&M Section of the American Chemical Society

Death

Cotton died on February 20, 2007, in College Station, Texas from complications of a head injury he suffered in a fall in October 2006. He was survived by his wife, the former Diane Dornacher, whom he married in 1959, and their two daughters, Jennifer and Jane.

The Brazos County Sheriff's Department opened an investigation into his death, describing his death as "suspicious".