C&EN: PEOPLE - Obituaries

Obituaries

Norman E. Siems Sr., a retired corporate secretary from PQ Corp., died on Feb. 22 at the age of 87.

Siems was born and raised in a rural part of Rochester, N.Y., where he attended a one-room district school before his family moved away from their farm to a nearby town. Siems then entered a more traditional school system, eventually attending the University of Rochester and earning a B.A. in chemistry.

Following graduation, Siems worked as a salesman for Scarbell Chemical, then Chicago-based Armour & Co., an early incarnation of what would eventually become Akzo Nobel. Three years later, Siems joined Pennsylvania-based Philadelphia Quartz (later named PQ Corp.), where he enjoyed a 39-year career. He held various positions within the company, from salesman to technical representative, during which time he helped it grow to become the largest manufacturer of soluble silicates and silicate derivatives in the world.

As he rose through the ranks at PQ, Siems served as director of its Mexican subsidiary, and he was also director, then president, of the Canadian subsidiary in Toronto. He held the position of corporate secretary before he retired.

In addition to extensive business travel, Siems was a world traveler in his spare time, and he had set foot at least once on every continent except Antarctica. While at home, Siems was equally dedicated to serving his community as a staunch supporter of local and regional Boy Scout activities. He held several positions with the Scouts and was awarded the organization's prestigious Silver Beaver Award for outstanding longtime service.

Siems was preceded in death by his first wife, Martha, and his second wife, Dolores. He is survived by three children, seven grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Joined ACS in 1945; emeritus member.

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Harry Berst Mark Jr., a chemistry professor at the University of Cincinnati, died on March 4. He was 69.

A native of Camden, N.J., Mark received his B.A. in chemistry from the University of Virginia in 1956. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in electrochemistry from Duke University in 1960 and was a postdoctoral fellow, first at the University of North Carolina from 1960 to 1962 and then at California Institute of Technology from 1962 to 1963.

Following his studies, Mark accepted a position as an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. In 1970, the University of Cincinnati recruited him to its chemistry department, where he stayed for the rest of his career.

While at Cincinnati, Mark earned international recognition for his work in electrochemistry and analytical chemistry. A highly published researcher, Mark became an early authority on the surface chemistry of activated carbon. He also pioneered work in conducting polymer electrodes and spectroelectrochemistry.

Mark appeared as a plenary lecturer at conferences around the world and served on the editorial boards of eight international scientific publications. In 1970, the Université Libre de Bruxelles awarded him its Medaille d'Hommage, and in 1976 he received the ACS Cincinnati Section Chemist of the Year Award.

In his personal life, Mark was a man of diverse interests. He drove Sprint cars and Midgets on the U.S. Auto Club circuit from 1963 to 1975. He was also an international expert on antique Colt firearms, publishing five papers on pre-Civil War weapons.

Mark is survived by three children, two grandchildren, and a sister. Joined ACS in 1960.

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Daniel Kivelson, a chemistry professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, died of cancer on Jan. 23 at the age of 73.

Born in New York City, Kivelson attended Harvard University, where he earned both an A.B. in 1949 and an M.S. in 1950 in chemistry, then a Ph.D. in chemical physics in 1953. After graduation, he spent two years as a physics instructor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining UCLA's chemistry department in 1955.

Kivelson was admired by his students and his colleagues for his ability to communicate the intricacies of science in a way that made learning both satisfying and enjoyable. He also contributed to the administrative side of teaching by serving as department chairman from 1975 to 1978 and as chairman of the UCLA Academic Senate from 1979 to 1980.

Kivelson was an accomplished researcher as well as a passionate teacher. He combined skills in experimentation and analysis to make important advances in many areas of chemical physics, including microwave spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and dynamic light scattering. In 1967, he received the ACS California Section Award, and in 1999, the American Physical Society awarded him its Irving Langmuir Prize in Chemical Physics. In 1997, the Journal of Physical Chemistry published a Festschrift issue in his honor.

Most recently, Kivelson was researching the so-called glass transition that takes place in supercooled liquids. He and a colleague proposed a novel theory that explains why and how the transition occurs and how to predict the conditions required for glass to form. Kivelson continued work on this research until just before his death.

Friends and family will best remember Kivelson for his prized collection of Turkoman rugs, a passion he enjoyed with his wife, Margaret. The couple lent pieces to shows at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., and to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and, together with their son, coauthored an introduction about Turkoman weaving for a rug exhibit catalog in 1975.

Kivelson is survived by his wife, two children, five grandchildren, a sister, and a brother. Joined ACS in 1979.

Obituaries are written by Victoria Gilman. Obituary notices may be sent by e-mail to v_gilman@acs.org and should include detailed educational and professional history.