A Life of Magic Chemistry (eBook)

GEORGE A. OLAH, PhD, was awarded the 1994 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in hydrocarbon chemistry. Professor Olah is Director of the Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Preface ix

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

Chapter 2. Perspectives on Science 4

Chapter 3. Chemistry: The Multifaceted Central Science 21

Chapter 4. Growing up in Hungary and Turning to Chemistry 38

Chapter 5. Early Research and Teaching: Departing the Shadow of Emil Fischer 51

Chapter 6. Move to North America: Industrial Experience While Pursuing the Elusive Cations of Carbon 64

Chapter. 7. Return to Academia--The Cleveland Years: Carbocations, Magic Acid, and Superacid Chemistry 84

Chapter 8. Moving to Los Angeles: Building the Loker Institute--Hydrocarbons and Hydrocarbon Research 108

Chapter 9. "Every Scientist Needs Good Enemies": The Nonclassical Ion Controversy and Its Significance 137

Chapter 10. From Kekule's Four-Valent Carbon to Five- and Higher-Coordinate Hypercarbon Chemistry 153

Chapter 11. The Nobel Prize: Learning to Live with It and Not Rest on Laurels 169

Chapter 12. Post-Nobel Years: From Superacids to Superelectrophiles 188

Chapter 13. Societal and Environmental Challenges of Hydrocarbons: Direct Methane Conversion, Methanol Fuel Cell, and Chemical Recycling of Carbon Dioxide 205

Chapter 14. Gone My Way 222

Appendix My Previous Books for References and Additional Reading 259

Index 261

"Olah...won the 1994 Nobel Prize in chemistry...he recounts his life journey from Hungary between the wars, his menial work after World War II, and movement from Budapest to Cleveland to Los Angeles." (SciTech Book News, Vol. 25, No. 2, June 2001)
"When one of the most important and interesting chemists of the 20th century pauses to reflect on his career, the results deserve attention. . . [the book] can be recommended to a wide readership and is must reading..." (Chemical & Engineering News, March 19, 2001)
"Olah's chemistry is as magical as his life..." (New Scientist, 3rd March 2001)
"The book exceeds expectations" "The reader is richly rewarded by the lessons in A Life of Magic Chemistry." (Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, Vol.40 No. 16, 2001)
"I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to everybody who want to know how hard work and perseverance can bring results -- and how one can enjoy life" (Chromatographia (Germany), August 2001)
"Overall, this is an excellent book, and the enthusiasm for chemistry that permeates it makes it recommended reading for all readers of Education in Chemistry." (Education in Chemistry, November 2001)
"highly recommended reading for those wishing to read Olah's scientific reflections." (Times Higher Educational Supplement, 4 January 2002)
A feature story on the life and accomplishments of George Olah: "'Certainly one's stamina and tolerance developed through these experiences,' Olah wrote in A Life of Magic Chemistry" (Investor's Business Daily, January 8, 2002)