Michael J. Dewar

Michael Dewar begins this interview by recalling his family background and early childhood in India and later at boarding school in England. He describes his public school coursework and texts, and early exposure to science, and explains how financial pressures influenced his decision to attend Oxford University. Next he describes the unique chemistry course offered at Oxford at that time, his professors, lab work, the influence of the war, the graduate degree system at the University, and his early work, which included alkaloids research and theoretical organic chemistry. He discusses his research and colleagues at Courtalds, Ltd., his learning physical chemistry, his work on resonance theory and molecular orbital theory, and his theoretical publications at that time. He also describes his associations with H. Christopher Longuet-Higgins, Charles A. Coulson, and Jack Roberts. Next Dewar recalls the events leading to his appointment as Head of the Chemistry Department at Queen Mary College, as well as the condition of the department when he arrived and his efforts to rebuild it. He also talks about several of his publications before and during the appointment at QMC, including work on resonance theory, molecular orbital theory, liquid crystals, dropwise condensation and heteroaromatics. Next Dewar discusses the factors that influenced his decision to leave England for a professorship at the University of Chicago. He describes the faculty of the department during his appointment, his teaching, and his research at that time. After reviewing his work on hyperconjugation, organomettalic semiconductors, split p orbital method, and the tropylium ion, Dewar recalls his first meeting with Norman Hackerman at the University of Texas. He discusses the effects of political problems within the University administration and the evolution of computing facilities and software there during his tenure. He describes his interest in developing techniques for theoretical calculations, and the resistance of ab initionists to these theories. Next Dewar discusses negative reception to his work on enzymes, and general resistance to new and unorthodox ideas among scientists. He ends the interview with an explanation of how his half-electron model developed and some comments on his students and colleagues over the years.

University of Oxford

1945 - 1945 Imperial Chemical Industrial Fellow

Courtaulds Ltd.

1945 - 1951 Research Chemist in Physical Chemistry

Queen Mary College, University of London

1951 - 1959 Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry

University of Chicago

1959 - 1963 Professor of Chemistry

University of Texas at Austin

1963 - 1990 Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry

University of Florida

1990 - 1993 Graduate Research Professor

James J. Bohning

James J. Bohning is professor emeritus of chemistry at Wilkes University, where he was a faculty member from 1959 to 1990. He served there as chemistry department chair from 1970 to 1986 and environmental science department chair from 1987 to 1990. Bohning was chair of the American Chemical Society’s Division of the History of Chemistry in 1986; he received the division’s Outstanding Paper Award in 1989 and has presented more than forty papers at national meetings of the society. Bohning was on the advisory committee of the society’s National Historic Chemical Landmarks Program from its inception in 1992 through 2001 and is currently a consultant to the committee. He developed the oral history program of the Chemical Heritage Foundation, and he was the foundation’s director of oral history from 1990 to 1995. From 1995 to 1998, Bohning was a science writer for the News Service group of the American Chemical Society. He is currently a visiting research scientist and CESAR Fellow at Lehigh University. In May 2005, he received the Joseph Priestley Service Award from the Susquehanna Valley Section of the American Chemical Society.