Rudolph Marcus, Caltech chemist who won Nobel Prize, dies at 102

Rudolph Marcus was perplexed. It was 1955 and Marcus, a 31-year-old subordinate prof of chemistry inactive successful the aboriginal stages of his career, had recovered an simple mistake successful the enactment of an esteemed scientist.

“Something doesn’t adhd up,” Marcus thought.

Marcus had discovered a calculation that violated the instrumentality of conservation of energy, a bedrock technological principle, tucked wrong a caller mentation connected electron behavior. This frustrated Marcus due to the fact that helium different liked the innovative mentation that had been projected by Willard Libby, a physicist who had helped make the atom bomb.

Marcus acceptable retired to hole the problem, but ended up doing overmuch more. Within a month, helium had developed an elegant look that would upend technological knowing of however molecules usage vigor and yet triumph him the Nobel Prize.

“When I got the effect it was the astir breathtaking infinitesimal that I’d ever had successful subject successful my life,” helium recalled successful a Caltech oral past interrogation successful 1993. “There was conscionable specified exhilaration. … It came retired successful specified a elemental form. It truly was a happening of quality — to me, anyway.”

Marcus, a Caltech prof for much than 40 years and a longtime Pasadena resident, died Thursday successful his home, Caltech said. He was 102.

Marcus archetypal published his conclusions connected “electron transportation reactions” successful 1956 and continued to refine them implicit the adjacent 9 years. His ideas were arguable until they were confirmed by experiments implicit 3 decades. In 1992, helium was awarded the Nobel for chemistry.

“His theories had an tremendous impact,” said Harry Gray, a chap Caltech chemistry professor, successful 1992.

The Marcus Theory, arsenic it came to beryllium known, provides a mathematical mode to find however accelerated oregon slow, oregon successful what direction, electrons leap betwixt molecules without breaking chemic bonds. It expanded scientists’ cognition of a wide spectrum of processes, specified arsenic however plants summation vigor from sunlight, however animals usage oxygen and nutrient arsenic fuel, and however batteries usage chemicals to make electricity.

He was besides known for his portion successful what was called the RRKM theory, named for the 4 scientists, including Marcus, who developed it. It describes however vigor is released from the chemic reactions of molecules successful the state phase.

“The RRKM mentation is 1 of the outstanding theories of chemic physics,” said Harold Johnson, a physics prof astatine UC Berkeley, successful 1985. “Marcus took a bully mentation developed successful the 1920s and ‘30s, brought it up to day successful 1951 and made it complete. All kinds of radical successful chemistry usage it.”

Rudolph Arthur Marcus was calved July 21, 1923, successful Montreal, the lone kid of American-born Myer Marcus and English-born Esther Marcus, some of Jewish Lithuanian descent. His begetter had assorted jobs, selling representation frames astatine 1 point, aboriginal managing a effect store. When helium was 3, his household moved to Detroit, past returned to Montreal erstwhile helium was 9.

While his begetter had small involvement successful education, Marcus recovered academic.inspiration successful 2 uncles who were doctors, a great-uncle who could talk 9 languages and, mostly, his mother.

“She liked schoolhouse truthful overmuch that she went to the past people twice, due to the fact that she couldn’t spend to spell on,” Marcus recalled successful a 1991 interrogation with the Chemical Heritage Foundation.

In precocious school, helium developed a emotion for mathematics. “If the teacher said bash each alternate problem, I’d bash every problem, conscionable simply for the amusive of doing it.”

At Montreal’s McGill University, helium majored successful chemistry, partially due to the fact that an advisor said that arsenic a Jew helium would person a harder clip uncovering a occupation successful mathematics. He received his bachelor’s grade successful 1943 and a PhD successful 1946, some successful chemistry and some from McGill.

Marcus did his archetypal postdoctoral probe successful Ottawa, but successful 1949 helium jumped astatine the accidental to survey mentation — alternatively of hands-on, experimental chemistry — astatine the University of North Carolina. Within his archetypal fewer days there, Marcus met Laura Hearne, a postgraduate pupil successful sociology, and they joined six months later. They would person 3 sons unneurotic and stay joined until her decease successful 2003.

In 1951, Marcus landed astatine the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn arsenic an adjunct professor. It was there, 4 years later, that helium had his Nobel-winning insight.

“We’ve heard of ‘eureka’ and, yes, determination was this eureka moment,” helium recalled. “I’ve ne'er solved a occupation truthful quickly, earlier oregon after.”

In 1958, helium was naturalized arsenic an American citizen.

In 1964, Marcus near Brooklyn’s Polytechnic to beryllium a chemistry prof astatine the University of Illinois. He spent 14 years determination — adjacent turning down a professorship astatine England’s Oxford University due to the fact that helium didn’t privation to uproot his household — earlier coming to Pasadena and the California Institute of Technology successful 1978. Caltech was his location for the remainder of his career.

The Nobel and its $1.2-million prize did small to alteration Marcus. A 1994 Los Angeles Times illustration noted that helium continued to locomotion to enactment astir days from his location conscionable disconnected the Pasadena campus, and inactive drove a 16-year-old car. He said, proudly, that erstwhile Laura met Sweden’s King Carl Gustav XVI, she was wearing a homemade dress.

Around the Caltech campus, Marcus remained truthful unaffected and truthful focused connected his probe that 1 workfellow quipped that helium “must person spent his cardinal dollars connected a caller sweater.”

Said Marcus: “It’s champion if 1 doesn’t deliberation excessively overmuch astir prizes and things. That puts the absorption successful the incorrect place, which should beryllium connected your enactment ... connected a peculiar occupation and however you should lick it.”

Marcus is survived by his 3 sons, Alan, Kenneth and Raymond; and 4 grandchildren.

Times unit writer Corinne Purtill contributed to this report.