Laitinen, Herbert A. (1915-) | University of Illinois Archives

Herbert ("Herb") August Laitinen (1915-1991) was instructor (1940-42); associate (1942-43); assistant professor (1943-46); professor of chemistry (1947-74); head of the Chemistry Department's Analytical Chemistry Division (1953-1963); and associate head of the Department of Chemistry (1963-74). He was a leading researcher in electroanalytical chemistry and, as an educator, was defining force in shaping the analytical chemistry curriculum across the US.

Laitinen was born near Wadena, Minnesota, on January 17, 1915, to parents Minnie Nikkari and Nestor A. Laitinen. He earned a bachelor's degree (1936) and a PhD (1940) from the University of Minnesota, undertaking his graduate work with I. M. Kolthoff. He accepted a position that year at UI, teaching inorganic and general chemistry before switching his focus to analytical chemistry in 1947. Over the course of his career, he published around 200 research papers predominately in the field of electroanalytical chemistry, but also in areas such as polarography, diffusion, polarization of microelectrodes, environmental science, and surface chemistry. He was highly influential in establishing the analytical chemistry curriculum and authored the definitive graduate textbook Chemical Analysis (1960). Laitinen served as Editor of Analytical Chemistry (1966â??79), and he was a leading force in defining analytical chemistry "as its emphasis changed from the analysis of various materials to the principles and methods of electrochemistry, spectroscopy, separations, and instrumentation" (Murray and Morrison). In 1974, Laitinen became Graduate Research Professor at the University of Florida. Widely respected in his field, he was honored with the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Analytical Chemistry and the ACS Division of Analytical Chemistry Excellence in Teaching Award (1986).

Laitinen was married to Marjorie Gorans and together they had three sons, Kenneth, Richard, and Roger. He died in Gainesville, Florida, on March 22, 1991.

Sources:

Royce Murray and G. H. Morrison, "Editorial: Herbert A. Laitinen 1917-1991," Analytical Chemistry 63, no. 11 (June 1991): 609a. Accessed May 13, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1021/ac00011a600.

"Herbert August Laitinen (1915-1991): Analytical Chemistry," American Chemical Society (ACS), accessed May 13, 2020,  https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/noyeslaboratory.html#herbert-august-laitinen-biography.