Science Magazine 23 DECEMBER 2005 VOL 310 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org1916 C R E D IT :C O U R T E S Y O F R IC E U N IV E R S IT Y O F F IC E O F M E D IA R E LA T IO N S A N D I N F O R M A T IO N R ichard Errett Smalley, who died on 28 October 2005 after a 7-year fight with cancer, unself ishly used his stature and wisdom to inspire a worldwide nan- otechnology revolution. His breakthroughs, his inexhaustible enthusiasm for exciting young people about science, and his awak- ening the world to possible nanotech solu- tions to the energy crisis have all left an enduring legacy. In only 40 years of apply- ing his powerful intellect to science and technology, his work led to entirely new types of materials and fields of study, revo- lutionary apparatus for scientific investiga- tions and commercialization, and a deep understanding of behavior on nano and molecular scales. Along the way he shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistr y for codiscovering the soccer-ball shaped C60 fullerene molecule. Born in Akron, Ohio, on 6 June 1943, Smalley’s interest in science began in his early teens as he and his mother collected single-cell organisms from a local pond and studied them with a microscope. He learned from his f ather how to b uild and f ix mechanical and electrical equipment and from his mother mechanical drawing, so that he could be more systematic in design work. Many decades later, Rick’s passion for creative design was still evident on his off ice walls—diagrams showing his most recent improvements on equipment for pro- ducing carbon nanotubes. Although his con- tributions to physics and engineering were landmarks, chemistry was his first love. The detailed periodic table of the elements that he drew on rafters in the attic where he stud- ied as a youngster marked his early fascina- tion with chemistry. He pursued this love, from under- g raduate studies at Hope College and t h e University of Michigan to the Shell Chemical Company, where he worked as a quality control chemist in a polypropylene plant. Rick said, “These were fascinating days, involving huge volumes of material, serious real-world problems, with large financial consequences.” He learned about industrial-scale processes and the impor- tance of efficient catalysts, which were use- ful much later when he initiated scale-up of carbon nanotube synthesis. After 4 years, he resumed academic studies and earned his Ph.D. in 1973 from Princeton University, focusing on the chemical physics of con- densed phase and molecular systems with thesis adviser Elliott Bernstein. During postdoctoral study with Donald Levy and Lennard Whar ton of the University of Chicago, and later with Daniel Auerbach, Rick helped develop a powerful technique: supersonic beam laser spectroscopy. As a result, chemical physi- cists can now drastically simplify the spec- troscopy of complex molecules. Using t h e coldest par t of the expanding gas, researchers could achieve temperatures below 1 K, thereby freezing the rotations of moderate-sized molecules and complexes. After joining the faculty of Rice University in 1976, Smalley worked together with Robert Curl to produce a sequence of pio- neering advances applicable for making and characterizing very cold supersonic beams of large molecules, radicals, and atomic clusters having precisely known numbers of atoms. In August 1985, Smalley and Curl were joined by Harold Kroto from the University of Sussex for a short summer project to study interesting carbon cluster distribu- tions found by Andrew Kaldor at Exxon using an apparatus constructed by Smalley’s group. After a legendary late night of taping together cardboard cutouts of hexagons and pentagons on his kitchen table, using Kroto’s insights into the importance of five- carbon rings, Smalley presented the carbon “soccer ball” as the only sensible way that 60 carbon atoms could be assembled to pro- duce the observed spectra. A new f ield of scientific investigation was thus born, and then fueled by a seemingly continuous bar- rage of exciting new results from both Rick’s laboratory and others across the world, which showed the diversity of carbon cage types, how their production could be scaled up, the diverse ways they can be modif ied, and their novel physical and chemical properties. In 1993, Rick redirected much of his group’s work to carbon nanotubes, which can be viewed as cylindrical versions of the carbon cage molecules, and Rick and his co-workers became leaders in the field. His experimental skills were again critical as his team developed the laser ablation and the high-pressure carbon monoxide processes for making single-walled carbon nanotubes. Rapid worldwide scientif ic progress was assisted by Rick’s providing access to these high-quality nanotubes, first through a non- prof it effort at Rice University, and then through the successful company he founded in 1999, Carbon Nanotechnologies, Inc. Many call Rick the grandfather of nan- otechnology. He was the most cited author in nanotechnology in the last decade, and his pivotal scientif ic and technological breakthroughs have inspired worldwide commercialization effor ts. Because of Rick’s key role in creating the National Nanotechnology Initiative, he was the only academic invited to the November 2003 Oval Office signing ceremony. His vision of using nanotechnology to help solve the energy crisis and to improve health through nanomedicine is motivating governments to fund effective programs. Many will dedi- cate themselves to a goal that Rick focused upon during his last 4 years of life: a carbon nanotube quantum wire cable much stronger than steel that would carry a cur- rent 10 times as high as that carried by cop- per wire and weigh one-sixth as much. With his passing, the world lost a great intellect in chemistry, physics, and engi- neering, but we also lost a great advocate for science and technology and a great educator and mentor. Robert Curl said that “Rick was a visionary, and his charisma and logic made those he worked with buy into the vision. Rick convinced us that we could be better, stronger, and take more chances if we just tried. I hope that we don’t forget—then his legacy…will make a lasting transforma- tive difference.” In his humble way, Rick simply said that science and life go on. 10.1126/science.1122120 P E R S P E C T I V E S R E T R O S P E C T I V E Richard E. Smalley (1943–2005) W. Wade Adams and Ray H. Baughman W. W. Adams is at the Center for Nanoscale Science a n d Te c h n o l og y, R i c e U n i ve rs i t y, H o u s t o n , T X 77251–1892, USA. E-mail: wade.adams@rice.edu R . H . B a u g h m a n i s a t t h e N a n o Te c h I n s t i t u t e , University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA. E-mail: ray.baughman@utdallas.edu Published by AAAS o n A p ril 5 , 2 0 2 1 h ttp ://scie n ce .scie n ce m a g .o rg / D o w n lo a d e d fro m http://science.sciencemag.org/ Richard E. Smalley (1943-2005) W. Wade Adams and Ray H. Baughman DOI: 10.1126/science.1122120 (5756), 1916.310Science ARTICLE TOOLS http://science.sciencemag.org/content/310/5756/1916 PERMISSIONS http://www.sciencemag.org/help/reprints-and-permissions Terms of ServiceUse of this article is subject to the is a registered trademark of AAAS.ScienceScience, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005. The title (print ISSN 0036-8075; online ISSN 1095-9203) is published by the American Association for the Advancement ofScience © 2005 American Association for the Advancement of Science o n A p ril 5 , 2 0 2 1 h ttp ://scie n ce .scie n ce m a g .o rg / D o w n lo a d e d fro m http://science.sciencemag.org/content/310/5756/1916 http://www.sciencemag.org/help/reprints-and-permissions http://www.sciencemag.org/about/terms-service http://science.sciencemag.org/