#HENCHMAN STORY KATE PROFESSIONAL#

This teaching instrument, used to measure molecular mass, and featured on the cover of the prestigious Journal of Chemical Education, was made largely of glass. Michael and his late colleague Colin Steel designed and assembled one of the most formidable and widely used instruments in chemistry’s analytical tool box, namely the quadrupole mass spectrometer. With a warm, witty, and articulate personality, Michael was a premier instructor. His encyclopedic command of the literature made him a welcome sabbatical visitor in research labs. He felt it important to address weaknesses in arguments and limitations of techniques, and not just accept authors’ claims. An underappreciated scientific contribution was the effort he expended in writing review articles. Among the more arcane was the discovery of conditions that permitted altering the apparent radar signatures of rockets, thus rendering them practically invisible. There were also surprising ramifications. His work has been incorporated into the basic description of how species react, into the chemistry of interstellar space, and to help understand the rocket trails that enthrall us as we watch launches into space, to the moon and to Mars.

As his research blossomed he pursued techniques for simultaneously controlling both energetics and reactant orientation, for studying partially solvated molecules and for investigating simple gas phase biochemistry. His research led to observations on, and conclusions about how individual, isolated atoms, ions, and molecules react at low energies (they cling to one another) and at high energies (they bounce off one another). Michael remained captivated with chemical energetics and mechanistics throughout his career. While at Leeds he met our late colleague, Ernest Grunwald, at a scientific conference Ernie was so taken with Michael that he recruited him for Brandeis, where he joined the faculty as Associate Professor in 1967. He then returned to Cambridge to enlarge his scientific tool box, working in inorganic chemistry with Alfie Maddock, before beginning his independent scientific career in 1961 as Lecturer in Chemistry at Leeds University. in 1960 in the field of high-energy chemistry he studied with Richard Wolfgang, then a rising star. As an undergraduate, Michael won a Mellon Fellowship to study at Yale, completing his Ph.D. Michael was brought up in London and on the island of Guernsey and first educated in England, at Sherborne School, Dorset and at Clare College, Cambridge, where he received a B.A. Michael’s early life was shaped by World War II. A celebration of Michael’s life is planned for the fall of 2021. He was stepfather to two step-children, and step-grandfather to four step-grandchildren. He leaves behind his wife Katrina (Kate), two children, Anna and Sacha, and a grandchild, Alexandra Henchman-Biel.

#HENCHMAN STORY KATE PROFESSIONAL#

Graduate Professional Studies (Online Programs)ĭear Colleagues, I am sad to share that Michael Henchman, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry died on at age 86. Rabb School: Graduate Professional Studies Heller School for Social Policy and Management

Henchman story kate