George C.

Pimentel
George Claude Pimentel (May 2, 1922 – June 18,
1989) was a preeminent chemist and researcher, the George C. Pimentel
inventor of the chemical laser, who was also dedicated Born May 2, 1922
to science education and public service.[2] He Rolinda, California, US
developed the technique of matrix isolation in low- Died June 18, 1989 (aged 67)
temperature chemistry. He also developed time- Kensington, California, US
resolved infrared spectroscopy to study radicals and Alma mater University of California, Los
other transient species. In the late 1960s, Pimentel led Angeles (B.S. 1943)
the University of California team that designed the University of California, Berkeley
infrared spectrometer for the Mars Mariner 6 and 7 (Ph.D. 1949)
missions that analyzed the surface and atmosphere of
Known for Chemical laser, matrix isolation,
Mars.[3]
infrared spectroscopy of MARS
He was a passionate and popular teacher of first-year and chemical education
chemistry for his entire career. In science education, he Scientific career
was best known for the CHEM STUDY project (http Fields Chemist
s://archive.org/details/chemstudystory00merr/page/n7/ Institutions University of California, Berkeley
mode/2up), a national effort to improve high-school
Thesis I. Spectroscopic study of two
chemistry teaching. He participated in the production
Boranes / II. Thermocouples
of films and other supplementary materials and in the
involving superconductors (htt
training of teachers nationwide. Later, in 1985, he
p://www.worldcat.org/oclc/84340
organized and edited the National Academy of
5041) (1949)
Sciences' "Pimentel Report," formally known as
Opportunities in Chemistry (https://nap.nationalacade Doctoral Kenneth S. Pitzer[1]
mies.org/catalog/606/opportunities-in-chemistry), advisor
which highlighted the most important challenges in Doctoral John D. Baldeschwieler
chemistry at that time. It was a resource for general students Mario Molina
public including lawmakers. A revised version, William Klemperer
Opportunities in Chemistry Today and Tomorrow (http Vicki Grassian
s://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/1884/opportuniti Geraldine L. Richmond
es-in-chemistry-today-and-tomorrow), was used Lester Andrews
worldwide for high school and college students.

An alumnus of University of California, Los Angeles (B.S. 1943) and University of California, Berkeley
(Ph.D. 1949), Pimentel began teaching at Berkeley in 1949, where he remained until his death in 1989
from intestinal cancer, with a three year appointment as Deputy Director at the National Science
Foundation under the Carter administration in Washington, D.C..[1][4]

Honors and awards

The ACS Award in Chemical Education was renamed the George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical
Education in his honor in 1989.[5][6]

Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy (1979)

Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1982)
Peter Debye Award (1983)
National Medal of Science (1985)
Franklin Medal (1985)
Welch Award (1986)
American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (1988)
Priestley Medal (1989)
George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education (1990)
In 1966, Pimentel was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and in 1968 to the American
Academy of Arts and Science. In 1985, 1987 and 1989 he was elected an honorary member to the
American Philosophical Society, the Royal Chemical Society (Great Britain), and the Royal Institute of
Great Britain.[7] In 1987, he served as the President of the American Chemical Society.

Chemical laser
In 1961, John C. Polanyi was the first to point out the possibility of chemical pumping based on
vibrational excitation. He proposed four possible reactions, one of which was the reaction of H + Cl2.
Using an infrared spectrometer, Jerome Kasper and Pimentel discovered infrared pulses produced by
photodissociation of iodine, the first chemical laser. In September 1964, they announced their discovery
at the first conference on chemical lasers, by that time more than 100 possible chemical reactions and 60
photodissociation reactions were proposed capable of producing laser radiation. However, at the
symposium in San Diego only one working laser was reported, which was laced with photodissociation of
iodine. In 1965, Kasper and Pimentel discovered the laser radiation HCl, arising from the explosion of the
system H2 / Cl2. After the discovery of the laser based on the reaction of F + H2 in 1967, the number of
chemical lasers found by the Pimentel laboratory rapidly increased. Thus, Pimentel first transformed the
chemical energy obtained as a result of vibrational excitation into laser radiation.

References
1. Kauffman, George B. (December 1999). "George C. Pimentel (1922–1989): A Retrospective
Personal and Pictorial Tribute a Decade after His Death | SpringerLink" (https://link.springer.
com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00897990342a.pdf) (PDF). The Chemical Educator. 4 (6): 242–
258. doi:10.1007/s00897990342a (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00897990342a).
S2CID 93524208 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:93524208). Retrieved
2020-01-31.
2. Moore, C. Bradley (1990). "George Pimentel". Physics Today. 43 (3): 96.
Bibcode:1990PhT....43c..96M (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1990PhT....43c..96M).
doi:10.1063/1.2810504 (https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.2810504). ISSN 0031-9228 (https://se
arch.worldcat.org/issn/0031-9228).
3. "George C. Pimentel" (https://www.sigmaxi.org/programs/prizes-awards/william-procter/awar
d-winner/george-c.-pimentel). www.sigmaxi.org. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
 4. New York Times Obituary: George C. Pimentel; Chemist Who Led Mars Study Was 67 (http
s://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/21/obituaries/george-c-pimentel-chemist-who-led-mars-study-
was-67.html)
5. "Awards Named for George C. Pimentel" (https://web.archive.org/web/20040527104011/htt
p://georgecpimentel.tripod.com/gcp-award.htm). georgecpimentel.tripod.com. Archived from
the original (http://georgecpimentel.tripod.com/gcp-award.htm) on 2004-05-27. Retrieved
2016-10-09.
6. "George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education - American Chemical Society" (https://w
ww.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/awards/national/bytopic/george-c-pimentel-a
ward-in-chemical-education.html). American Chemical Society. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
7. "George Claude Pimentel – inventor of chemical laser" (https://web.archive.org/web/201807
14021739/http://www.worldofchemicals.com/255/chemistry-articles/george-claude-pimentel-i
nventor-of-chemical-laser.html). 2013-04-30. Archived from the original (http://www.worldofc
hemicals.com/255/chemistry-articles/george-claude-pimentel-inventor-of-chemical-laser.htm
l) on 2018-07-14. Retrieved 2018-07-13.

External links
Kauffman, George B. (December 1999). "George C. Pimentel (1922–1989): A Retrospective
Personal and Pictorial Tribute a Decade after His Death" (https://link.springer.com/content/p
df/10.1007/s00897990342a.pdf) (PDF). The Chemical Educator. 4 (6): 242–258.
doi:10.1007/s00897990342a (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00897990342a).
S2CID 93524208 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:93524208). Retrieved
2020-01-31.
Jeanne Pimentel (2003). "George C. Pimentel Website" (https://web.archive.org/web/20040
527104042/http://georgecpimentel.tripod.com/index.htm). Archived from the original (http://g
eorgecpimentel.tripod.com/index.htm) on 2004-05-27. Retrieved 2007-11-19.
Ann Thayer. "The Priestley Medal - 1989: George C. Pimentel (1922-1989) Chemical &
Engineering News, April 7, 2008" (http://pubs.acs.org/cen/priestley/recipients/1989pimentel.
html). Retrieved 2008-09-17.
C. Bradley Moore (2007). "George Claude Pimentel 1922-89 A Biographical Memoir" (http://
www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/pimentel-george.pdf)
(PDF). National Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
Guide to the George C. Pimentel Papers (http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt596n
f32g/) at The Bancroft Library

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