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 professor of chemistry still successful nan early stages of his career, had recovered an simple correction successful nan activity of an esteemed scientist.

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

Marcus had discovered a calculation that violated nan rule of conservation of energy, a bedrock technological principle, tucked wrong a caller mentation connected particle behavior. This disappointment Marcus because he different liked nan innovative mentation that had been projected by Willard Libby, a physicist who had helped create nan atom bomb.

Marcus group retired to hole nan problem, but ended up doing overmuch more. Within a month, he had developed an elegant look that would upend technological knowing of really molecules usage power and yet triumph him nan Nobel Prize.

“When I sewage nan consequence it was nan astir breathtaking infinitesimal that I’d ever had successful subject successful my life,” he recalled successful a Caltech oral history question and reply successful 1993. “There was conscionable specified exhilaration. … It came retired successful specified a elemental form. It really was a point of beauty — to me, anyway.”

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

Marcus first published his conclusions connected “electron transportation reactions” successful 1956 and continued to refine them complete nan adjacent 9 years. His ideas were arguable until they were confirmed by experiments complete 3 decades. In 1992, he was awarded nan 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 measurement to find really accelerated aliases slow, aliases successful what direction, electrons jump betwixt molecules without breaking chemic bonds. It expanded scientists’ knowledge of a wide spectrum of processes, specified arsenic really plants summation power from sunlight, really animals usage oxygen and nutrient arsenic fuel, and really batteries usage chemicals to create electricity.

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

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

Rudolph Arthur Marcus was calved July 21, 1923, successful Montreal, nan only kid of American-born Myer Marcus and English-born Esther Marcus, some of Jewish-Lithuanian descent. His begetter had various jobs, trading image frames astatine 1 point, later managing a consequence store. When he was 3, his family moved to Detroit, past returned to Montreal erstwhile he was 9.

While his begetter had small liking successful education, Marcus recovered academic.inspiration successful 2 uncles who were doctors, a awesome uncle who could speak 9 languages and, mostly, his mother.

“She liked schoolhouse truthful overmuch that she went to nan past people twice, because she couldn’t spend to spell on,” Marcus recalled successful a 1991 question and reply pinch nan Chemical Heritage Foundation.

In precocious school, he developed a emotion for mathematics. “If nan coach said do each alternate problem, I’d do every problem, conscionable simply for nan nosy of doing it.”

At Montreal’s McGill University, he majored successful chemistry, partially because an advisor said that arsenic a Jew he would person a harder clip uncovering a occupation successful mathematics. He received his bachelor’s grade successful 1943 and a Ph.D. successful 1946, some successful chemistry and some from McGill.

Marcus did his first postdoctoral investigation successful Ottawa, but successful 1949 he jumped astatine nan chance to study mentation — alternatively of hands-on, experimental chemistry — astatine nan University of North Carolina. Within his first fewer days there, Marcus met Laura Hearne, a postgraduate student successful sociology, and they joined six months later. They would person 3 sons together and stay joined until her decease successful 2003.

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

“We’ve heard of ‘eureka’ and, yes, location was this eureka moment,” he recalled. “I’ve ne'er solved a problem truthful quickly, earlier aliases after.”

In 1958, he was naturalized arsenic an American citizen.

In 1964, Marcus near Brooklyn’s Polytechnic to beryllium a chemistry professor astatine nan University of Illinois. He spent 14 years location — moreover turning down a professorship astatine England’s Oxford University because he didn’t want to uproot his family — earlier coming to Pasadena and nan California Institute of Technology successful 1978. Caltech was his location for nan remainder of his career.

The Nobel and its $1.2 cardinal prize did small to alteration Marcus. A 1994 Los Angeles Times floor plan noted that he continued to locomotion to activity astir days from his location conscionable disconnected nan Pasadena campus, and still 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 nan Caltech campus, Marcus remained truthful unaffected and truthful focused connected his investigation that 1 workfellow quipped that he “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 nan attraction successful nan incorrect place, which should beryllium connected your activity . . . connected a peculiar problem and really you should lick it.”

Marcus is survived by his 3 sons, Alan, Kenneth and Raymond and 4 grandchildren. Laura Marcus died successful 2003.

Times Staff Writer Corinne Purtill contributed to this report.