Jerome A. Berson (May 10, 1924 – January 13, 2017) was an American chemist who was a Sterling Professor at Yale University, and also a published author. He worked on sigmatropic rearrangements, thermal and carbocationic rearrangements, and the role of orbital symmetry in chemical reactions while at University of Wisconsin. While at Yale University, he was part of many new studies, especially on non-Kekulé molecules.
Early life and education Jerome Berson was born in Sanford, Florida, to immigrant Jewish parents. His father served as a lay rabbi and his mother was a milliner and housewife. As a result of the Great Depression, his parents struggled to earn a living so they moved to The Bronx, New York in 1934 when Berson was about ten years old and stayed there until 1937. During this time Berson attended Junior High School. In 1937 his family relocated to Long Island, where he attended Long Island High School. Berson graduated high school at the age of 15. He worked riding a Good Humor Ice Cream bicycle for a year so he could save to pay for college. Berson attended City College of New York, primarily chosen for economic reasons, and graduated a semester early with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry in 1944. Later in 1947, he obtained a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. In 1949, mentored by William von Eggers Doering, Berson earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University. He married Bella Zevitovsky, whom he met when they were undergraduates. They had three children, Ruth, David and Jon.
Career and research After he graduated from City College of New York, Berson began working on penicillin as an assistant chemist at Hoffmann-LaRoche. After brief employment at Hoffmann-LaRoche, he served in the U.S Army Medical Corps during World War II, advancing from private to sergeant. He returned in 1946 and did his dissertation research with William von Eggers Doering at Columbia University. During the academic year of 1949–1950, Berson was a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University with Robert Burns Woodward. He served on the faculties of the University of Southern California from 1950 to 1963, the University of Wisconsin from 1963 to 1969, and Yale University from 1969. During the time he worked at the University of Wisconsin the focus of his laboratory were the thermal and carbocationic rearrangements and the role of orbital symmetry in chemical reactions. Meanwhile, he had taken note of Erich Hückel's, which with Hund's Rule provided continuing themes in his thinking and research. While working at Yale University, he was part of many new studies, especially on non-Kekulé molecules. He held the title Sterling Professor at Yale University since 1992 and Sterling Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and senior research scientist since 1994. In addition to teaching and research, his activities at Yale University included service as chairman of the department of chemistry (1971-1974) and director of the division of physical sciences and engineering (1983-1990). He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1970 and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1971. Berson died peacefully at his home on January 13, 2017, at the age of 92.
Honor awards National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard University (R.B. Woodward) (1949) California Section Award, American Chemical Society (1963) National Academy of Sciences (1970) American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1971) James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, American Chemical Society(1978) U.S. Senior Scientist Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (1980) William H. Nichols Medal, New York Section, American Chemical Society (1985) Roger Adams Award, American Chemical Society (1987) Arthur C. Cope Award, American Chemical Society (1992) Oesper Award, Cincinnati Section, American Chemical Society (1998) Literature Award of the German Chemical Industry Fund (2000)
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