Re: [ccp4bb] Prof. Jack Dunitz, 1923-2021

[Robert Stroud]

Thanks Aaron, a beautiful recognition of a great scientist.

Robert Stroud
str...@msg.ucsf.edu



> On Sep 14, 2021, at 10:13 AM, Aaron Finke  wrote:
> 
> Dear all,
> 
> It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Prof. Jack Dunitz at 
> the age of 98. Prof. Dunitz was a giant in the development of modern 
> crystallographic methods, most notably in the determination of the crystal 
> structure of ferrocene, confirming the “sandwich complex” nature of that 
> molecule and ushering in the field of organometallic chemistry. As a 
> crystallographer, mathematician, and chemist, Prof. Dunitz effectively 
> bridged the gap between crystallography and chemistry, inspiring chemists to 
> exploit the utility of the burgeoning field of crystallography. He was a 
> professor at ETH-Zurich for over 60 years, and even after his “retirement” in 
> 1990, dedicated his life to crystallographic research.
> 
> I have many fond memories of Prof. Dunitz from my time at ETH. Even at the 
> age of 91, he still came into the office at least three times a week to 
> pursue research programs; I am told he continued to come in regularly until 
> Covid forced the campus closed. His wit and curiosity never dulled, and was 
> enamored with new technologies that enabled various new forms of 
> crystallographic research. He owned an iPad before I ever did! As a postdoc 
> doing crystallography, Prof. Dunitz enjoyed calling me into his office, 
> ostensibly to help him use some feature of CCDC Mercury, but in reality to 
> discuss some new idea he had about crystal symmetry and exploiting it to gain 
> some greater understanding of coordination complexes. He was the kind of 
> person who had forgotten more chemistry than I will ever know, and these 
> discussions were always enlightening and entertaining, mixing new theory with 
> the history of crystallography, much of which he bore witness or contributed 
> to. He will be sorely missed.
> 
> If you would like to express your condolences, please use the following email 
> address:  jack_condole...@ethz.ch 
> 
> Aaron
> --
> Aaron Finke
> Staff Scientist, MacCHESS
> Cornell University
> e-mail: af...@cornell.edu 
> 
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[ccp4bb] Prof. Jack Dunitz, 1923-2021

[Aaron Finke]

Dear all,

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Prof. Jack Dunitz at 
the age of 98. Prof. Dunitz was a giant in the development of modern 
crystallographic methods, most notably in the determination of the crystal 
structure of ferrocene, confirming the “sandwich complex” nature of that 
molecule and ushering in the field of organometallic chemistry. As a 
crystallographer, mathematician, and chemist, Prof. Dunitz effectively bridged 
the gap between crystallography and chemistry, inspiring chemists to exploit 
the utility of the burgeoning field of crystallography. He was a professor at 
ETH-Zurich for over 60 years, and even after his “retirement” in 1990, 
dedicated his life to crystallographic research.

I have many fond memories of Prof. Dunitz from my time at ETH. Even at the age 
of 91, he still came into the office at least three times a week to pursue 
research programs; I am told he continued to come in regularly until Covid 
forced the campus closed. His wit and curiosity never dulled, and was enamored 
with new technologies that enabled various new forms of crystallographic 
research. He owned an iPad before I ever did! As a postdoc doing 
crystallography, Prof. Dunitz enjoyed calling me into his office, ostensibly to 
help him use some feature of CCDC Mercury, but in reality to discuss some new 
idea he had about crystal symmetry and exploiting it to gain some greater 
understanding of coordination complexes. He was the kind of person who had 
forgotten more chemistry than I will ever know, and these discussions were 
always enlightening and entertaining, mixing new theory with the history of 
crystallography, much of which he bore witness or contributed to. He will be 
sorely missed.

If you would like to express your condolences, please use the following email 
address:  jack_condole...@ethz.ch

Aaron
--
Aaron Finke
Staff Scientist, MacCHESS
Cornell University
e-mail: af...@cornell.edu




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