Rowland, Frank Sherwood
Rowland, Frank Sherwood,
1927–2012, American chemist, b. Delaware, Ohio, Ph.D. Univ. of Chicago, 1952. Rowland taught at Princeton from 1952 to 1956 and at the Univ. of Kansas from 1956 to 1964, when be became a professor at the Univ. of California, Irvine. Rowland was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with Paul CrutzenCrutzen, Paul Jozef,1933–, Dutch atmospheric chemist, grad. Univ. of Stockholm (Ph.D. 1968, D.Sc. 1973). After working (1977–80) for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colo., and teaching (1976–81) at Colorado State Univ.
..... Click the link for more information. and Mario MolinaMolina, Mario,
1943–, Mexican chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of California, Berkeley, 1972. Molina was a professor at the Univ. of California, Irvine from 1975 to 1982 and a researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
..... Click the link for more information. in 1995 for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozoneozone
, an allotropic form of the chemical element oxygen (see allotropy). Pure ozone is an unstable, faintly bluish gas with a characteristic fresh, penetrating odor. The gas has a density of 2.144 grams per liter at STP.
..... Click the link for more information. . In 1974, Rowland and Molina published a seminal paper in Nature describing the threat to the ozone layerozone layer
or ozonosphere,
region of the stratosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone, located at altitudes of 12–30 mi (19–48 km) above the earth's surface.
..... Click the link for more information. posed by chlorofluorocarbonchlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), organic compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and fluorine atoms. CFCs are highly effective refrigerants that were developed in response to the pressing need to eliminate toxic and flammable substances, such as sulfur dioxide and ammonia, in
..... Click the link for more information. (CFC) gases, which were used in aerosol cans, refrigerants, and plastic foams. Their work gave rise to international restrictions on CFC use.