The Papers of John D. Roberts

John D. Roberts was born in Los Angeles, CA on June 8, 1918. He received his AB degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and returned there for his PhD in 1944. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1946 to 1950, progressing from Instructor in Chemistry to Associate Professor. He was a visiting professor at Ohio State University before taking a position as Professor of Organic Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) where he has remained, teaching and serving the institute in various administrative capacities, including Vice President, Provost and Dean of the Faculty. Roberts has also served on various boards and committees for American Chemical Society, the National Academy of the Sciences, the National Science Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, the Lewis S.B. Leakey Foundation and the Huntington Medical Research Institute. He has been a Director of Organic Syntheses since 1977 and has served on numerous editorial boards. Among the awards given to Roberts during his long career are the the National Medal of Science, the Priestley Medal, the Roger Adams Medal, the Welsch Award, the Linus Pauling Award, the Nichols Award and the Michelson-Morley Award.