View source for Biography:Robert Curl

{{Short description|American chemist (1933–2022)}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Robert Curl
| native_name       = Robert Floyd Curl Jr.
| image             = Robert Curl crop 2009 CHAO.jpg
| image_size        = 
| caption           = Curl in 2009
| birth_date        = {{birth date|1933|8|23}}
| birth_place       = Alice, Texas, U.S.
| death_date        = {{death date and age|2022|7|3|1933|8|23}}
| death_place       = Houston, Texas, U.S.
| residence         = 
| citizenship       = 
| nationality       = 
| ethnicity         = 
| field             = [[Chemistry:Chemistry|Chemistry]]
| work_institutions = [[Organization:Rice University|Rice University]], [[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]]
| alma_mater        = [[Organization:Rice University|Rice Institute]], BS; [[Organization:University of California, Berkeley|University of California, Berkeley]], PhD
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Biography:Kenneth Pitzer|Kenneth Pitzer]]
| doctoral_students = Lihong V. Wang<br>[[Biography:James L. Kinsey|James L. Kinsey]]
| known_for         = The discovery of fullerenes
| thesis_title = Some spectroscopic and thermodynamic properties of molecules
| thesis_year  = 1957
| thesis_url   = http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/632442049
| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| prizes            = Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996.  Cross-cultural ambassador at Sorbonne University UNESCO Club
| religion          = 
| footnotes         = 
| signature         = 
}}

'''Robert Floyd Curl Jr.''' (August 23, 1933 – July 3, 2022) was an American chemist who was Pitzer–Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry at [[Organization:Rice University|Rice University]].<ref name="RiceInfo">{{cite web|title=Robert F. Curl|url=https://chemistry.rice.edu/FacultyDetail.aspx?RiceID=589|website=Department of Chemistry, Rice University|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref> He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 for the discovery of the [[Physics:Nanomaterials|nanomaterial]] [[Chemistry:Buckminsterfullerene|buckminsterfullerene]], and hence the [[Chemistry:Fullerene|fullerene]] class of materials, along with [[Biography:Richard Smalley|Richard Smalley]] (also of Rice University) and Harold Kroto of the [[Organization:University of Sussex|University of Sussex]].

== Early life and education ==
Born in Alice, Texas, United States, Curl was the son of a Methodist [[Religion:Minister (Christianity)|minister]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Carey">{{cite book|last1=Carey|first1=Charles W. Jr.|title=American scientists|date=2006|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York, NY|isbn=9780816054992|pages=79–80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00r9waSNv1cC&pg=PA79|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref> Due to his father's missionary work, his family moved several times within southern and southwestern Texas, and the elder Curl was involved in starting the San Antonio Medical Center's Methodist Hospital.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = Notable Scientists from 1900 to the Present|last = Proffitt|first = Pamela|publisher = The Gale Group|date = 2001|isbn = 978-0787617523|location = Farmington Hills, MI|pages = [https://archive.org/details/notablescientist0005unse/page/503 503–4]|editor-last = Narins|editor-first = Brigham|chapter = Robert Floyd Curl Jr.|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/notablescientist0005unse/page/503}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url = https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1996/curl-bio.html|title = Robert F. Curl Jr. – Biographical|date = 1996|access-date = 12 July 2014|website = Nobelprize.org|publisher = Nobel Media AB }}</ref>  Curl attributes his interest in chemistry to a [[Chemistry:Chemistry set|chemistry set]] he received as a nine-year-old, recalling that he ruined the finish on his mother's porcelain stove when [[Chemistry:Nitric acid|nitric acid]] boiled over onto it.<ref name=":2" />  He is a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School in San Antonio, Texas.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url = http://www.tjhsalumni.org/mustangspotlight/1365546|title = TJHS Alumni: Dr. Robert Floyd Curl Jr. '50|date = 5 August 2013|access-date = 12 July 2014|publisher = Thomas Jefferson High School Alumni Association }}</ref>  His high school offered only one year of chemistry instruction, but in his senior year his chemistry teacher gave him special projects to work on.<ref name=":4" />

Curl received a Bachelor of Science from [[Organization:Rice University|Rice Institute]] (now Rice University) in 1954.<ref name=":0" />  He was attracted to the reputation of both the school's academics and football team, and the fact that at the time it charged no tuition.<ref name=":4" />  He earned his [[Social:Doctorate|doctorate]] in chemistry from the [[Organization:University of California, Berkeley|University of California, Berkeley]], in 1957.<ref name=":0">[http://www.nndb.com/people/798/000100498/ Robert F. Curl, Jr<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> At Berkeley, he worked in the laboratory of [[Biography:Kenneth Pitzer|Kenneth Pitzer]], then dean of the college of chemistry, with whom he would become a lifelong collaborator.  Curl's graduate research involved performing [[Physics:Infrared spectroscopy|infrared spectroscopy]] to determine the bond angle of [[Chemistry:Disiloxane|disiloxane]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" />

==Scientific career==
Curl was a postdoctoral fellow at [[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]] with [[Biography:Edgar Bright Wilson|E. B. Wilson]], where he used [[Physics:Microwave spectroscopy|microwave spectroscopy]] to study the bond rotation barriers of molecules.<ref name=":4" />  After that, he joined the faculty of Rice University in 1958.<ref name=":1" /> He inherited the equipment and graduate students of George Bird, a professor who was leaving for a job at Polaroid.<ref name=":2" />  Curl's early research involved the microwave spectroscopy of [[Chemistry:Chlorine dioxide|chlorine dioxide]].<ref name=":4" />  His research program included both experiment and theory, mainly focused on detection and analysis of [[Biology:Free radical|free radical]]s using microwave spectroscopy and tunable lasers.  He used these observations to develop the theory of their [[Physics:Fine structure|fine structure]] and [[Physics:Hyperfine structure|hyperfine structure]], as well as information about their structure and the kinetics of their reactions.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url = http://chemistry.rice.edu/FacultyDetail.aspx?RiceID=589|title = Robert F. Curl: University Professor Emeritus, Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus, Professor of Chemistry Emeritus|access-date = 12 July 2014|publisher = Rice University Department of Chemistry }}</ref>

== Nobel Prize ==
Curl's research at Rice involved the fields of infrared and microwave spectroscopy.<ref name=":1" />  Curl's research inspired Richard Smalley to come to Rice in 1976 with the intention of collaborating with Curl.<ref name=":6">{{cite web|title=Richard E. Smalley, Robert F. Curl, Jr., and Harold W. Kroto|url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/richard-smalley-robert-curl-harold-kroto|website=Science History Institute |access-date=21 March 2018|date=June 2016}}</ref>  In 1985, Curl was contacted by Harold Kroto, who wanted to use a laser beam apparatus built by Smalley to simulate and study the formation of [[Astronomy:Polyyne|carbon chains]] in [[Astronomy:Red giant|red giant]] stars. Smalley and Curl had previously used this apparatus to study [[Physics:Semiconductor|semiconductor]]s such as [[Chemistry:Silicon|silicon]] and [[Chemistry:Germanium|germanium]].<ref name=":1" /> They were initially reluctant to interrupt their experiments on these semiconductor materials to use their apparatus for Kroto's experiments on carbon, but eventually gave in.<ref name=":6" />

They indeed found the long carbon chains they were looking for, but also found an unexpected product that had 60 carbon atoms.<ref name=":6" />  Over the course of 11 days, the team studied and determined its structure and named it [[Chemistry:Buckminsterfullerene|buckminsterfullerene]] after noting its similarity to the geodesic domes for which the architect [[Biography:Buckminster Fuller|Buckminster Fuller]] was known.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Robert F. Curl Jr—Nobel Laureate in Chemistry|last1 = Shampo|first1 = Marc A.|date = August 2010|journal = Mayo Clinic Proceedings|doi = 10.4065/mcp.2010.0448|last2 = Kyle|first2 = Robert A.|first3 = David P.|last3 = David P.|pmc=2912751|pmid=20704028|volume=85|issue = 8|pages=e58}}</ref> This discovery was based solely on the single prominent peak on the mass spectrograph, implying a chemically inert substance that was geometrically closed with no [[Physics:Dangling bond|dangling bond]]s.<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal|title = Dawn of the fullerenes: experiment and conjecture|last = Curl|first = Robert F.|date = July 1997|journal = Reviews of Modern Physics|doi = 10.1103/RevModPhys.69.691|bibcode=1997RvMP...69..691C|volume=69|issue = 3|pages=691–702}}</ref> Curl was responsible for determining the optimal conditions of the carbon vapor in the apparatus, and examining the spectrograph.<ref name=":1" />  Curl noted that James R. Heath and Sean C. O'Brien deserve equal recognition in the work to Smalley and Kroto.<ref name=":4" />  The existence of this type of molecule had earlier been theorized by others, but Curl and his colleagues were at the time unaware of this.  Later experiments confirmed their proposed structure, and the team moved on to synthesize [[Chemistry:Endohedral fullerene|endohedral fullerene]]s that had a metal atom inside the hollow carbon shell.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="NobelBio">{{cite web|title=Robert F. Curl Jr. – Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1996/curl-bio.html|website=Nobelprize.org|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="C60 publication">{{cite journal|last1=Kroto|first1=H. W.|last2=Heath|first2=J. R.|last3=O'Brien|first3=S. C.|last4=Curl|first4=R. F.|last5=Smalley|first5=R. E.|title=C60: Buckminsterfullerene|journal=Nature|date=14 November 1985|volume=318|issue=6042|pages=162–163|doi=10.1038/318162a0|bibcode=1985Natur.318..162K|s2cid=4314237}}</ref><ref name="Heath">{{cite journal|last1=Heath|first1=J. R.|last2=O'Brien|first2=S. C.|last3=Zhang|first3=Q.|last4=Liu|first4=Y.|last5=Curl|first5=R. F.|last6=Tittel|first6=F. K.|last7=Smalley|first7=R. E.|title=Lanthanum complexes of spheroidal carbon shells|journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|date=December 1985|volume=107|issue=25|pages=7779–7780|doi=10.1021/ja00311a102}}</ref><ref name="Zhang">{{cite journal|last1=Zhang|first1=Q. L.|last2=O'Brien|first2=S. C.|last3=Heath|first3=J. R.|last4=Liu|first4=Y.|last5=Curl|first5=R. F.|last6=Kroto|first6=H. W.|last7=Smalley|first7=R. E.|title=Reactivity of large carbon clusters: spheroidal carbon shells and their possible relevance to the formation and morphology of soot|journal=The Journal of Physical Chemistry|date=February 1986|volume=90|issue=4|pages=525–528|doi=10.1021/j100276a001}}</ref>  The [[Chemistry:Fullerene|fullerene]]s, a class of molecules of which buckminsterfullerene was the first member discovered, are now considered to have potential applications in [[Physics:Nanomaterials|nanomaterials]] and [[Engineering:Molecular scale electronics|molecular scale electronics]].<ref name=":6" /> Robert Curl's 1985 paper entitled "C60:  Buckminsterfullerine", published with colleagues H. Kroto, J. R. Heath, S. C. O’Brien,  and R. E. Smalley, was honored by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, presented to Rice University in 2015.<ref name="Award"/><ref name="Breakthrough"/> The discovery of fullerenes was recognized in 2010 by the designation of a [[Chemistry:National Historic Chemical Landmarks|National Historic Chemical Landmark]] by the [[Organization:American Chemical Society|American Chemical Society]] at the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University in Houston, Texas.<ref name="ChemLandmark"/>

After winning the Nobel Prize in 1996, Curl took a quieter path than Smalley, who became an outspoken advocate of nanotechnology, and Kroto, who used his fame to further his interest in science education, saying, "After winning a Nobel, you can either become a scientific pontificator, or you can have some idea for a new science project and you can use your newfound notoriety to get the resources to do it. Or you can say, 'Well, I enjoy what I was doing, and I want to keep doing that.'"<ref name=":2" /> True to that humility, when asked by the President of Rice what he would like, following the Nobel announcement, he asked that a bike rack be installed closer to his office and laboratory.<ref name=NatureObit>[https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-022-01195-0 Robert F. Curl (1933–2022)], Nature, 17 Aug 2022</ref>

== Later research ==
Curl's later research interests involved [[Chemistry:Physical chemistry|physical chemistry]], developing [[Biology:DNA|DNA]] genotyping and sequencing instrumentation, and creating [[Physics:Photoacoustic spectroscopy|photoacoustic]] sensors for [[Physics:Trace gas|trace gas]]es using [[Engineering:Quantum cascade laser|quantum cascade laser]]s.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/146968/Robert-F-Curl-Jr|title = Robert F. Curl Jr.|access-date = 12 July 2013|encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica }}</ref> He is known in the residential college life at Rice University for being the first master of Lovett College.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/robert-curl/|title = Robert Curl|date = 2013-06-28|access-date = 12 July 2014|publisher = Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy }}</ref>

Curl retired in 2008 at the age of 74,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url = http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Legendary-Rice-professor-Robert-Curl-retiring-1665527.php|title = Legendary Rice professor Robert Curl retiring|date = 29 June 2008|access-date = 12 July 2014|website = Chron|last = Berger|first = Eric}}</ref> becoming a University Professor Emeritus, Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus, and Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Rice University.<ref name="RiceInfo"/><ref name=":5" />

==Personal life==
Curl married Jonel Whipple in 1955, with whom he had two children. He cycled to his office and lab and every week played bridge with the Rice Bridge Brigade. Curl died in Houston on July 3, 2022, at the age of 88.<ref name=":8">{{cite news |author=Jade Boyd |date=July 4, 2022 |title=Nobel laureate, beloved Rice professor Robert Curl dead at 88 |url=https://news.rice.edu/news/2022/nobel-laureate-beloved-rice-professor-robert-curl-dead-88 |access-date=July 5, 2022 |work=Rice University}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Durrani |first1=Jamie |title=Chemistry Nobel laureate Robert Curl dies at 88 |url=https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/chemistry-nobel-laureate-robert-curl-dies-at-88/4015908.article |magazine=Chemistry World |access-date=26 July 2022 |language=en |date=5 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="WaPoObit">{{cite news |last1=Murphy |first1=Brian |title=Robert Curl, Nobel-winning chemist in 'buckyball' discovery, dies at 88 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/07/06/robert-curl-dies-buckyball-chemistry/ |access-date=26 July 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=6 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="NYTObit">{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Kenneth |title=Robert F. Curl Jr., Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry, Dies at 88 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/20/science/robert-f-curl-jr-dead.html |access-date=26 July 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=20 July 2022}}</ref><ref name=NatureObit/>

==Awards and honors==
{{Div col}}
* Clayton Prize, Institute of Mechanical Engineers, 1957<ref name="RiceNobel"/><ref name="Hargittai">{{cite book|last1=Hargittai|first1=István|last2=Hargittai|first2=Magdolna|title=Candid science|date=2000|publisher=Imperial College Press|location=London|isbn=978-1860941511|pages=375–388|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_u3CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA375|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>
* Alexander von Humboldt Senior US Scientist Award, University of Bonn, Germany, 1984<ref name="RiceNobel"/><ref name="Hargittai"/>
* Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, 1997<ref name="Unrau">{{cite journal|last1=Unrau|first1=Lia|title=Rice University Professor Curl Elected to National Academy of Sciences|journal=Rice University News and Media|date=May 5, 1997|url=http://news.rice.edu/1997/05/05/rice-university-professor-curl-elected-to-national-academy-of-sciences/|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref>
* Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement, 1997<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url=https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration}}</ref>
* Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1998<ref name="Lindau"/><ref name="AAAS">{{cite web|title=American Academy of Arts & Sciences|url=http://oir.rice.edu/Factbook/Faculty_and_Staff/Achievements/American_Academy_of_Arts___Sciences/|website=Rice University|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref>
* International Prize for New Materials, American Physical Society, 1992<ref name="RiceNobel"/>
* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 1996<ref name="NobelBio"/>
* Johannes Marcus Marci Award in Spectroscopy, 1998<ref name="Lindau"/>
* Centenary Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, 1999<ref name="RiceNobel"/>
* Honorary Fellow, The Royal Society of New Zealand, 2001<ref name="RiceNobel"/><ref name="Lindau">{{cite web|title=Prof. Dr. Robert Floyd Curl|url=http://www.mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org/laureates/curl-jr|website=Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings|access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref>
* University of Bochum Research Prize, 2004<ref name="RiceNobel">{{cite web|title=Guide to the Rice University Nobel Prize records, 1978–2006, bulk 1996 UA 123|url=http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ricewrc/00248/rice-00248.html|website=Rice University|access-date=19 July 2016 |url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115192102/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ricewrc/00248/rice-00248.html | archive-date=January 15, 2008}}</ref>
* [[Chemistry:National Historic Chemical Landmarks|National Historic Chemical Landmark]], American Chemical Society, 2010<ref name="ChemLandmark">{{cite web|title=Discovery of Fullerenes National Historic Chemical Landmark|url=https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/fullerenes.html|website=American Chemical Society|access-date=18 July 2016}}</ref>
* Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award, Division of History of Chemistry, American Chemical Society, 2015<ref name="Award">{{cite web|title= 2015 Awardees|url=http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/awards/CCB-2015_Awardees.php|website=American Chemical Society, Division of the History of Chemistry|publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Chemical Sciences|date=2015|access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="Breakthrough">{{cite web|title=Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award|url=http://www.scs.illinois.edu/~mainzv/HIST/awards/Citations/2015-Kroto%20plaque.pdf|website=American Chemical Society, Division of the History of Chemistry|publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Chemical Sciences|date=2015|access-date=1 July 2016}}</ref>
* Fellow of the Optical Society of America<ref name="RiceNobel"/><ref name="Lindau"/>
{{Div col end}}

==Selected publications==
{{Refbegin}}
'''Journal articles''':
*{{Cite journal|last1=Curl|first1=Robert|title=Dawn of the fullerenes: experiment and conjecture|journal=[[Physics:Reviews of Modern Physics|Reviews of Modern Physics]]|volume=69|issue=3|pages=691–702|date=1997|doi=10.1103/RevModPhys.69.691|bibcode=1997RvMP...69..691C}}
'''Technical reports''':
*Curl, R. F. and G. P. Glass. "[https://www.osti.gov/biblio/82413-infrared-absorption-spectroscopy-chemical-kinetics-free-radicals-final-performance-report-august-july Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy and Chemical Kinetics of Free Radicals. Final Performance Report, August 1, 1985 – July 31, 1994]," National Accelerator Laboratory, [[Organization:Rice University|Rice University]], United States Department of Energy, (June 1995).
*Curl, R. F. and G. P. Glass. "[https://www.osti.gov/biblio/838138-infrared-absorption-spectroscopy-chemical-kinetics-free-radicals Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy and Chemical Kinetics of Free Radicals, Final Technical Report]," [[Organization:Rice University|Rice University]], United States Department of Energy, (November 2004).
{{Refend}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Nobelprize}}
* Finding aid to the [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ricewrc/00036/rice-00036.html Guide to the Robert F. Curl Academic papers, 1981–2008, bulk 1985–1993 MS 483], Rice University
*[http://nano.rice.edu Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology]
* Career retrospective interviews [https://academicinfluence.com/interviews/chemistry/robert-curl Discovery, history, and lucky accidents in chemistry] and [https://academicinfluence.com/interviews/chemistry/robert-curl-karina What is it like to be a scientist?], AcademicInfluence.com, November/December 2020

{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 1976-2000}}
{{1996 Nobel Prize winners}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Curl, Robert}}
[[Category:American Nobel laureates]]
[[Category:Nobel laureates in Chemistry]]
[[Category:Spectroscopists]]

{{Sourceattribution|Robert Curl}}