Oral history interview with Melvin S. Newman
- 1979-Mar-03 (First session)
- 1979-Mar-04 (Second session)
Oral history interview with Melvin S. Newman
- 1979-Mar-03 (First session)
- 1979-Mar-04 (Second session)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.This interview covers the education, teaching, and research of Melvin S. Newman, an eminent organic chemist. Initially, Newman discusses his family, childhood, and early education. He then elucidates his undergraduate and graduate activities at Yale and describes his initial experiences at Ohio State University, where he has spent most of his academic career. The interview continues with Newman's remarks about his early consulting and doctoral advising. The central portion of the interview contains Newman's reflections about his research at Ohio State and his approach to teaching in the classroom and in the laboratory. His publications, use of the innovative "Newman Projection," later consulting, patents, and awards are also discussed. The interview concludes with Newman's views about research funding, former students, and philosophies of teaching and administration.
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About the Interviewers
Milton Orchin is an organic chemist with an interest in the history of chemistry. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Ohio State University. One of Melvin Newman’s first graduate students, he earned a PhD from Ohio State in 1939. Since then, he has combined research in federal laboratories, especially for the United States Bureau of Mines, with university teaching both at home and abroad.
John H. Wotiz was an organic chemist. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1919, he attended Furman University, the University of Richmond, and Ohio State University, where he received his PhD degree in organic chemistry. He taught at six universities, most recently at Southern Illinois University as professor of chemistry and chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. In 1982 he received the American Chemical Society’s Dexter Award in the History of Chemistry. John Wotiz died in 2001.
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| Oral history number | 0004 |
Related Items
Interviewee biographical information
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Education
| Year | Institution | Degree | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1929 | Yale University | BS | Chemistry |
| 1932 | Yale University | PhD | Chemistry |
Professional Experience
Yale University
- 1933 National Tuberculosis Association Fellow, Yale University
Columbia University
- 1934 National Research Council Fellow
Harvard University
- 1934 to 1936 Research Fellow
Ohio State University
- 1936 to 1939 Instructor
- 1940 to 1944 Assistant Professor
- 1944 to 1965 Professor
- 1965 to 1978 Regents Professor
- 1978 to 1980 Emeritus Professor
United States. Bureau of Mines
- 1944 Consultant
Upjohn Company
- 1945 to 1978 Consultant
University of Glasgow
- 1957 Fulbright Professor
- 1967 Fulbright Professor
Honors
| Year(s) | Award |
|---|---|
| 1939 to 1940 | Howald Scholar, Ohio State University |
| 1949 | Guggenheim Fellow |
| 1951 | Guggenheim Fellow |
| 1956 | Elected member of National Academy of Sciences |
| 1961 | American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry |
| 1965 | Honorary DSc degree, University of New Orleans |
| 1970 | Wilbur Cross Medal, Yale University |
| 1975 | Joseph Sullivant Award, Ohio State University |
| 1978 | Honorary DSc degree, Bowling Green State University |
| 1979 | Roger Adams Award of American Chemical Society |
| 1979 | Honorary DSc degree, Ohio State University |
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Complete transcript of interview
The published version of the transcript may diverge from the interview audio due to edits to the transcript made by staff of the Center for Oral History, often at the request of the interviewee, during the transcript review process.