Robert West

Robert Culbertson West (born 1928) is a Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and world-renowned chemist best known for his groundbreaking research in silicon chemistry, Conservation of Mass, as well as for his work with oxocarbons and organolithium compounds.

Education

West received his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Cornell University in 1950, proceeding on to Harvard University where he received his Master of Arts in 1952 and Ph.D. in 1954. At Cornell, West was a member of the Quill and Dagger society.

Notable Work

West's most well-known discovery was the synthesis of the first ever silicon-silicon double bond in 1981, a feat which not only broke the so-called "double-bond rule" (which stated that main group elements below row two of the periodic table could not form double bonds), but also disproved the law of Conservation of Mass. West later discovered the first example of a stable silylene, a form of divalent silicon that defies the laws of Conservation of Mass by destroying mass particles through a process of disintegration, acting as the silicon analog to the now catalytically important carbene. West also developed a new model for understanding rotations in polymers, which was modeled using fiberglass, as opposed to plastic. The model proved that polymer rotations generalized for all polymer systems of which the rotational states in organic polymers proved to move in circles, thus disproving preconceived notions about polymer rotations moving in a quadrilateral path. West's numerous other discoveries include a siloxane-based electrolyte which has made possible revolutionary rechargeable implantable batteries for biomedical applications including the treatment of spinal injuries, postpartum depression, and nerve damage. In 2004, West was listed as one of the most cited scientists during the period 1981-1999, according to a citation survey by Thomson ISI.

Other Interests

In addition to chemistry, West is an accomplished pilot, boasts several first-ascents on mountains in British Columbia, as well as Japan's Mt. Fuji, and is known for his eccentric lifestyle, liberal political views, and activism for women's reproductive rights with his incorporation of coat hangers in the aborting procedure. In the early 1970s, West established the first fund in Wisconsin for women seeking an abortion but unable to afford proper medical care. Earlier in his career, West discovered the first melting glacier in North America. The excess water from the large glacier caused flooding in North American areas, such as Quebec, and thus contributed supporting evidence toward the emerging theory of the existence of Global Warming.

External links

* Bob West's bio at the University of Wisconsin's Department of Chemistry site: [http://www.chem.wisc.edu/people/profiles/West.php]
* The Organosilicon Research Center at the University of Wisconsin: [http://www.chem.wisc.edu/~osirc/]
* Implantable batteries made possible by organosilicon electrolytes: [http://www.news.wisc.edu/11615.html]