posted 10/2
quantum chemistry pioneer wins top award
Robert G. Parr, a professor emeritus of chemistry, has been awarded the 2009 Award in Theoretical Chemistry from the American Chemical Society. The award recognizes innovative research in theoretical chemistry that either advances theoretical methodology or contributes to new discoveries about chemical systems.
Parr, a previous winner of a National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences, has been a pioneer in the field of quantum chemistry since the 1950s. His work has influenced thousands of chemists, physicists and other scientists.
In 1988, Parr and colleagues published an improved method of approximating correlation energy (a mathematical expression that accounts for how electrons in a many-electron system interact with one another). The Lee-Yang-Parr method has been cited more than 22,000 times and remains the most widely used method. It has been cited in papers ranging from nanotechnology developments to the synthesis of antibiotics.
Parr joined Carolina’s faculty in 1974 and was named Wassily Hoeffding Professor of Chemical Physics in 1990. He retired in 1991.
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