Robin M. Hochstrasser

Robin M. Hochstrasser, 82, the Donner Professor of Physical Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, died on Feb. 27. The university did not identify a cause of death.

“The world has lost a first-rate spectroscopist and physical chemist whose work laid the foundation for some of today’s leading advances in ultrafast science,” says Ahmed H. Zewail, 1999 chemistry Nobel laureate and a professor of chemistry at California Institute of Technology, who was one of Hochstrasser graduate students.

“Robin Hochstrasser was a true pioneer in modern physical chemistry and chemical physics,” says Michael D. Fayer, a chemistry professor and spectroscopist at Stanford University. “In the early days of his career, physical chemistry was dominated by the study of small molecules in the gas phase. His early work motivated a major shift in the direction of physical chemistry as he pulled the community along with him into the study of liquids, solids, and biological systems.”

Hochstrasser is best known for his work on ultrafast spectroscopy and two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy. Much of his recent research focused on biological applications of spectroscopy to topics such as protein folding and amyloid structures.

See more at: http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/03/Robin-Hochstrasser-Spectroscopy-Pioneer-Dies.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cen_latestnews+%28Chemical+%26+Engineering+News%3A+Latest+News%29