12 Facts About Martin Gouterman

Martin Paul Gouterman was an American chemist who was a professor of chemistry at the University of Washington.

Martin Gouterman is remembered for his seminal work on the optical spectra porphyrins, for which he developed a simple model generally referred to as Gouterman's four-orbital model.

Martin Gouterman attended Philadelphia Central High School and graduated in 1949.

Martin Gouterman was an undergraduate student at the University of Chicago, where originally he majored in piano performance but eventually studied physics.

Martin Gouterman stayed at Chicago for his doctoral research, where he started studying porphyrins.

Shortly after Martin Gouterman arrived, Moffitt died of a heart attack during a squash game.

Martin Gouterman was quickly promoted to assistant professor, and spent his time using quantum chemical calculations to understand the photophysical properties of porphyrins.

Martin Gouterman primarily made use of the Huckel molecular orbital method to interrogate their optical spectra.

Martin Gouterman moved to the University of Washington in 1966, where he worked until his retirement.

In Seattle, Martin Gouterman continued to study the optical properties of porphyrins.

Martin Gouterman came out as gay at around age 35 after he moved to Seattle.

Martin Gouterman worked with the New Jewish Agenda and International Jewish Peace Union to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace.