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Lewis Hastings Sarett

Lewis Hastings Sarett is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Lewis Hastings Sarett rather than just read about it. In short: Lewis Hastings Sarett (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American organic chemist. While serving as a research scientist at Merck & Co., Inc., he synthesized cortisone.

Key takeaways

  • Lewis Hastings Sarett belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Lewis Hastings Sarett to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Lewis Hastings Sarett from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Lewis Hastings Sarett (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American organic chemist. While serving as a research scientist at Merck & Co., Inc., he synthesized cortisone.

Biography He was born in Champaign, Illinois. His father was Lew Sarett, a renowned Jewish poet and professor and an uncle of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He lived in Laona, Wisconsin, for a time and then attended high school in Highland Park, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in 1939, graduating in the honors society Phi Beta Kappa and got a doctorate from Princeton University. He worked for Merck & Co. for 38 years retiring in 1982. He invented a Process of Treating Pregnene Compounds Cortisone, Patent Number 2,462,133. Named after him is the Sarett Oxidation which is the oxidation of an alcohol to a ketone or an aldehyde using chromic oxide and pyridine. Primary alcohols will be oxidised to aldehydes and not carboxylic acids.

Honors and awards 1964 Scheele Award 1972 Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists 1975 National Medal of Science 1976 Perkin Medal 1980 Inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame 1980 Awarded the IRI Medal from the Industrial Research Institute for his contributions to technology leadership 1981 American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal

References

External links Arthur A. Patchett, "Lewis Hastings Sarett", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2002) Inventors hall of fame December 22 - Today in Science History - Scientists born on December 22nd, died, and events New York Times Obituary, December 27, 1999.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Lewis Hastings Sarett

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Lewis Hastings Sarett claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Lewis Hastings Sarett before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Lewis Hastings Sarett ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Lewis Hastings Sarett

In research
Lewis Hastings Sarett appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Lewis Hastings Sarett in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Lewis Hastings Sarett is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1917 births, 1999 deaths, 20th-century American Jews, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Lewis Hastings Sarett outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Lewis Hastings Sarett in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Lewis Hastings Sarett means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Lewis Hastings Sarett out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Lewis Hastings Sarett in simple terms?

Lewis Hastings Sarett (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an American organic chemist. While serving as a research scientist at Merck & Co., Inc., he synthesized cortisone.

Why does Lewis Hastings Sarett matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Lewis Hastings Sarett?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Lewis Hastings Sarett.

Tags

  • 1917 births
  • 1999 deaths
  • 20th-century American Jews
  • 20th-century American chemists
  • 20th-century American inventors
  • American scientist stubs
  • Jewish American scientists
  • Jewish chemists
  • Members of the National Academy of Medicine
  • National Medal of Science laureates
  • Northwestern University alumni
  • People from Champaign, Illinois

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