chemistry

M. Frederick Hawthorne

M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne rather than just read about it. In short: Marion Frederick Hawthorne (August 24, 1928 – July 8, 2021) was an inorganic chemist who made contributions to the chemistry of boron hydrides, especially their clusters. Early life and education Hawthorne was born on August 24, 1928, in Fort Scott, Kansas.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

Marion Frederick Hawthorne (August 24, 1928 – July 8, 2021) was an inorganic chemist who made contributions to the chemistry of boron hydrides, especially their clusters.

Early life and education Hawthorne was born on August 24, 1928, in Fort Scott, Kansas. He received his elementary and secondary education in Kansas and Missouri. Prior to high school graduation, he entered the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy, Rolla, Missouri through examination as a chemical engineering student. He then transferred to Pomona College, where he received a B.A. degree in chemistry in 1949. While there he conducted research with Corwin Hansch. Hawthorne completed his Ph.D. in organic chemistry under Donald J. Cram at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1953. He conducted postdoctoral research at Iowa State University with George S. Hammond, before joining the Redstone Arsenal Research Division of the Rohm and Haas Company in Huntsville, Alabama.

Professional career At the Redstone Arsenal, he worked on the chemistry of boron hydrides making several notable discoveries. In 1962, he moved to the University of California, Riverside as professor of chemistry. He moved to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1969. In 1998, he was appointed University Professor of Chemistry at UCLA. He then returned to his home state of Missouri as head of the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at University of Missouri. Hawthorne was long associated with the journal Inorganic Chemistry, and was its longest serving editor-in-chief.

Research

Hawthorne's contributions focused on the chemistry of boron hydride clusters. He discovered dodecaborate anion (B12H122−) and metal complexes of the dicarbollide anion. His group subsequently discovered the perhydroxylation of B12H122−.

Recognition Hawthorne has been widely recognized, including with election to the US National Academy of Sciences.

1992 – Honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences at Uppsala University, Sweden 1994 – Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists 2009 – Priestley Medal from the American Chemical Society 2011 – National Medal of Science

External links Interview with Richard Eisenberg for the Voices of Inorganic Chemistry (2011)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with M. Frederick Hawthorne

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne

In research: M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne 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: M. Frederick Hawthorne is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1928 births, 2021 deaths, 21st-century American chemists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne in 20 minutes

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

Frequently asked questions

What is M. Frederick Hawthorne in simple terms?

Marion Frederick Hawthorne (August 24, 1928 – July 8, 2021) was an inorganic chemist who made contributions to the chemistry of boron hydrides, especially their clusters. Early life and education Hawthorne was born on August 24, 1928, in Fort Scott, Kansas.

Why does M. Frederick Hawthorne 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 M. Frederick Hawthorne?

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 M. Frederick Hawthorne.