1968 Seaborg Award: Richard L. Wolfgang

C&EN Obituary

Wolfgang, who was born in Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany, came to the US in 1945 and received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1951. He was a pioneer in the field of “hot chemistry,” and specialized in the mechanism of nuclear reactions. He also developed several chemical accelerators-instruments used to break atomic bonds in molecules so that their reactions may be studied. For his contributions to this field, Wolfgang received the American Chemical Society’s award for nuclear applications in 1968.

Before coming to Yale University, Wolfgang served on the faculty of Florida State University and before that on staff of Brookhaven National Laboratory. He also severed as a consultant to many industrial firms including the Westinghouse Electric Corp and the United Aircraft Corp. —Physics Today Volume 24, Issue 10, October 1971 Obituary