Richard Errett Smalley was an American chemist who was the Gene and Norman Hackerman Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy at Rice University.
18 Facts About Richard Smalley
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Richard Smalley was an advocate of nanotechnology and its applications.
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Richard Smalley was particularly inspired by mathematician Norman N Royall Jr.
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Richard Smalley attended Hope College for two years before transferring to the University of Michigan where he received his Bachelor of Science in 1965, performing undergraduate research in the laboratory of Raoul Kopelman.
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Richard Smalley did postdoctoral work at the University of Chicago from 1973 to 1976, with Donald Levy and Lennard Wharton where he was a pioneer in the development of supersonic beam laser spectroscopy.
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Richard Smalley helped to found the Rice Quantum Institute in 1979, serving as Chairman from 1986 to 1996.
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Richard Smalley became a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1990, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991.
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Richard Smalley recognized that the structure of C60 was like that of a soccer ball after cutting and tapping hexagons together in a three-dimensional manner, utilizing 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons.
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Richard Smalley was responsible for the name of C60, naming it after Buckminster Fuller, an American architect who was known for his use of geodesic domes in his designs.
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Richard Smalley is well known for his group's invention of the high-pressure carbon monoxide method of producing large batches of high-quality nanotubes.
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Richard Smalley spun off his work into a company, Carbon Nanotechnologies Inc and associated nanotechnologies.
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Richard Smalley was an outspoken skeptic of the idea of molecular assemblers, as advocated by K Eric Drexler.
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Richard Smalley believed that Drexler's speculations about apocalyptic dangers of molecular assemblers threatened the public support for development of nanotechnology.
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Richard Smalley presented a list entitled "Top Ten Problems of Humanity for Next 50 Years".
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Richard Smalley regarded several problems as interlinked: the lack of people entering the fields of science and engineering, the need for an alternative to fossil fuels, and the need to address global warming.
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Richard Smalley felt that improved science education was essential, and strove to encourage young students to consider careers in science.
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Richard Smalley was a leading advocate of the National Nanotechnology Initiative in 2003.
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Richard Smalley, who had taken classes in religion as well as science at Hope College, rediscovered his religious foundation in later life, particularly during his final years while battling cancer.