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Herbert D. Kaesz papers, 1955-2005
LSC.2349
LSC.2349
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Table of contents
Title: Herbert D. Kaesz papers
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2349
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
2.8 linear feet
(7 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1955-2005
Abstract: Herbert D. Kaesz was a professor of chemistry in UCLA’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He received his PhD from
Harvard University in 1959, and joined UCLA’s Inorganic Chemistry unit within the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department in
1960, where he researched the synthesis and applications of organometallic compounds. The collection consists of materials
related to his teaching career and research at UCLA. The papers include materials on grant and research project proposals,
nomenclature and symbols, scientific societies and related publications, conferences, meeting minutes and agendas, professional
and personal correspondence, a PhD dissertation, lab notebooks, and photographs.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button
located on this page.
Creator:
Kaesz, Herbert D.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. All requests to access special collections material must be made in
advance using the request button located on this page.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Herbert D. Kaesz Papers (Collection 2349). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research
Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Susan Kaesz; gift; 2013.
Processed by Krystell Jimenez under the supervision of Angel Diaz, 2017.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
8303895
Herbert D. Kaesz was a professor of chemistry in UCLA’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. He was born on January 4,
1933, in Alexandria, Egypt, to Austrian parents. After receiving an undergraduate degree from New York University, he studied
at Harvard University, where he met his wife Joan. He received his PhD in 1959. Kaesz joined UCLA’s faculty in the Inorganic
Chemistry unit in 1960, where he researched the synthesis and applications of organometallic compounds.
Kaesz was a pioneer in the development of pyrolytic and photolytic methods of metal film deposition and electronic applications,
as well as in the development of metal cluster and hydrido metal complexes. Less than a year after he joined UCLA, his research
group reported the first technetium carbonyl compounds. His research group also developed methods for making thin films from
transition metals for use in microelectronic devices, which they patented.
Throughout his life he remained active in the field, serving as president of the Inorganic Synthesis Organization, associate
editor of the ACS journal
Inorganic Chemistry for more than 30 years, chair of the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry, and chair of IUPAC’s Commission on the Nomenclature
of Inorganic Chemistry. He was also president of the Inorganic Syntheses Organization, which published the
Inorganic Syntheses tract series. Kaesz received many awards for his work, including the Tolman Medal in 1980 and the ACS Award for Distinguished
Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry in 1998, among others. After retiring in 2003, he remained an active professor
emeritus and designed a Fiat Lux seminar for non-chemistry majors. The Fiat Lux freshmen seminar program offers undergraduate
student that opportunity to engage in discussion on a variety of topics. He died of cancer at the age of 79 on February 26,
2012, in Los Angeles.
The collection consists of materials related to the teaching career and research of UCLA Chemistry Professor Emeritus Herbert
D. Kaesz. The papers include materials on grant and research project proposals, nomenclature and symbols, scientific societies
and related publications, conferences, meeting minutes and agendas, professional and personal correspondence, Kaesz's PhD
dissertation, lab notebooks, and photographs.
The acronyms used include: American Chemical Society (ACS) Commission on the Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry (CNIC) International
Activities Committee (IAC) International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) National Science Foundation (NSF) Southern
California Section of the American Chemical Society (SCALACS) U.S. National Committee (USNC)
Kaesz's original order has been maintained. File titles are taken from the original folder labels.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Kaesz, Herbert D.--Archives.
University of California, Los Angeles. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry--Faculty--Archives.
Chemistry, Inorganic.
Chemists--United States--Archives.