In molecular thermodynamics, Ernest Grunwald (1923-2002) was a German-born American physical organic chemist noted for his 1997 textbook Thermodynamics of Molecular Species, a coherent theoretical overview of his life’s work, being essentially the application of thermodynamics to organic reaction mechanisms. [1]
Education
Grunwald completed a BS in chemistry and BA in physics in 1944 at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his PhD in 1947, with a dissertation on “Solvolytic Substitution in the Presence of Neighboring Groups”, under Saul Winstein at UCLA. [2] From 1941 to 1961, at Florida State University, Grunwald used electrochemistry, solution thermodynamics, and acid-base chemistry to demonstrate quantitatively how the free energies of neutral molecules and ions respond to solvent change across a variety of water-organic binary mixtures and water-salt solutions. In 1965, he became the chair of the chemistry department at Brandeis University, retiring in 1989.
References
1. Grunwald, Ernest. (1997). Thermodynamics of Molecular Species. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2. Arnett, Edward M. (2004). “Ernest Grunwald: November 2, 1923-March 28, 2002” [URL], Biographical Memoirs (pgs. 165-82), Vol. 84, The National Academies Press.
External links
● Grunwald, Ernest (1923-) – WorldCat Identities.
