born July 21, 1923, Montreal, Que., Can.
Canadian-born U.S. chemist.
Educated at McGill University, he worked at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (from 1951), the University of Illinois (from 1964), and the California Institute of Technology (from 1978). He studied electron transfer in redox reactions in the 1950s and '60s, finding that subtle changes in the molecular structures of the reactants and the solvent molecules around them influence the ability of electrons to move between the molecules. He also discovered the parabolic relationship between the driving force of an electron-transfer reaction and the reaction's rate. His work, which has shed light on fundamental phenomena such as photosynthesis, cell metabolism, and simple corrosion, won him a 1992 Nobel Prize.