Holdings Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Chemical Sciences Roger Adams Papers Finding Aid Holdings Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Chemical Sciences Roger Adams Papers Finding Aid By (Unknown); Salvatore V. De Sando
Title: Roger Adams Papers, 1812-1971
ID: 15/5/23
Primary Creator: Adams, Roger (1889-1971)
Extent: 26.0 cubic feet
Arrangement: By type of material & chronologically or alphabetically thereunder.
Subjects: Abbott Laboratories, Alfred Sloan Foundation, Alpha Chi Sigma, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemists, American Literature, American Philosophical Society, Battelle Memorial Institute, Berlin, Germany, Boston, Massachusetts, Chemical Warfare Service, Chemistry, Chemurgic Council, Coca Cola Company, Cosmos Club, Du Pont De Nemours Corporation, E.I., European Travel, Faculty Papers, Genealogy, Germany - Business and Industry, Germany - Science and Technology, Graduate Study, Harvard University, Illinois Board of Natural Resources, Industrial Chemistry, International Sugar Research Foundation, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Krebiozen, Laboratory Notes, Marijuana, Music -- Australia - Science and Technology, Music -- India - Science and Technology, Music -- Japan - Business and Industry, Music -- Japan - Science and Technology, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), National Defense Research Committee, National Science Foundation (NSF), New Guinea - History and Geography, New Zealand - Business and Industry, New Zealand - Science and Technology, Organic Chemistry, Organic Reactions, Organic Syntheses, Otto Haas Trust Fund, Research, Robert Welch Foundation, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Institute, Synthetic Products, University Patents, World War I - Scientific Research and Development, World War II - Diplomacy and Politics, World War II - Intelligence, Morale and Propaganda, World War II - Military Government and Peace, World War II - Scientific Research and Development
Formats/Genres: Papers
Languages: English
Papers of Roger Adams (1889-1971), professor of chemistry (1916-57), & department head (1926-54),including personal items relating to family, education and travel; photographs; correspondence with family, foundation officials, businessmen, officials of professional societies, scientists and former students; tape-recorded interviews on the chemistry department and financial support of research and graduate work; speeches; reports; manuscripts; reprints; books; correspondence and research on the chemistry on marijuana (1938-41); documents about service in the Chemical Warfare Service (1917-18), National Defense Research Committee (1941-46), as scientific advisor in Germany (1945-46), Japan (1947-48); programs of symposia, award ceremonies, newspaper clippings relating to awards and activities. Three subject files (1949-71) contain correspondence, reports, agendas, minutes, memoranda and newsletters relating to associations with the Battelle Memorial Institute, Otto Haas Trust Fund, Robert Welch Foundation, Alfred Sloan Fund, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Institute, International Sugar Research Foundation, National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, National Science Foundation, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Assoc. for the Advancement of Science, American Philosophical Society, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, American Institute of Chemists, The Chemurgic Council, Illinois Board of Natural Resources and Conservation, Abbott Laboratories, E.I. DuPont Co., Coca Cola Co., Organic Reactions, Organic Syntheses, Cosmos Club and dealing with election, appointment of personnel, research, awarding of grants and securities investments. Correspondents include Wallace Carothers, James Conant, Ernest Volwiler, Robert Robinson and Richard Willstatter.
Roger Adams (1889-1971) was assistant professor (1916-19), professor (1916-57), head of the Department of Chemistry (1926-54), and professor emeritus (1957-71) at the University of Illinois (UI). He was a renowned organic chemist, public servant, and educator known for his many scientific discoveries, including the platinum oxide catalyst or the Adams catalyst.
Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 2, 1889, to parents Lydia Curtis and Austin Winslow Adams. He attended Harvard University, earning a BA (1909), MA (1910), and a PhD (1912) in organic chemistry. He undertook postdoctorate research in Germany with Emil Fischer and Otto Diels at the University of Berlin and Richard Willstätter at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute in Dahlem (1912/13). When Adams returned to the US, he worked as a research assistant to Charles L. Jackson and an instructor at Harvard University. In 1916, he accepted an assistant professorship at UI and remained there for the rest of his career. While at UI, he supervised the research of more than 200 PhD students in addition to postdoctoral research associates and fellows. He also personally conducted and oversaw a vast array of research achievements, including the discovery of countless methods of organic synthesis and natural products such as synthesizing chloralkyl esters from aldehydes and acid chlorides and discovering the structures of disalicylaldehyde and dehydro-acetic acid.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Adams led the American Chemical Manufactures enterprise on the UI campus. He also undertook government work on more than one occasion, conducting research on poisonous gases for the US Army (1917-18); leading an US effort to manufacture synthetic rubber during WWII; and serving as scientific advisor in Germany (1945-46) and Japan (1947-48) in the aftermath of WWII. For the US Narcotics Bureau, he isolated and identified cannabidiol from Cannabis sativa, revealing its connection to tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabinol.
Adams was the recipient of the William H. Nichols Medal (1927), Priestley Medal (1946), National Medal of Science (1964), and American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal (1964), among others. The American Chemical Society (ACS) established the Roger Adams Award in 1959 to honor distinguished contributions to organic chemistry. He was also a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and was awarded the Order of Lincoln by the governor of Illinois (1967). Adams received a number of honorary doctorates, including from Northwestern, Harvard, and Yale. In 1972, the Roger Adams Laboratory on the UI campus was named in his honor.
Sources:
"Roger Adams (1889-1971)," Department of Chemistry (UIUC), accessed May 6, 2020, https://chemistry.illinois.edu/illini-chemists/roger-adams.
Walter Murphy, "Roger Adams: President of the AAAS for 1950," The Scientific Monthly, LXX, no. 1 (January 1950): 30-33.
D. Stanley Tarbell and Ann Tracy Tarbell, "Roger Adams, 1889â??1971," Biographical Memoir (Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1982), accessed May 6, 2020, http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/adams_roger.pdf.
Wikipedia, s.v. "Roger Adams," accessed May 6, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Adams.
Abbott Laboratories
Alfred Sloan Foundation
Alpha Chi Sigma
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Association for the Advancement of Sciences
American Chemical Society
American Institute of Chemists
American Literature
American Philosophical Society
Battelle Memorial Institute
Berlin, Germany
Boston, Massachusetts
Chemical Warfare Service
Chemistry
Chemurgic Council
Coca Cola Company
Cosmos Club
Du Pont De Nemours Corporation, E.I.
European Travel
Faculty Papers
Genealogy
Germany - Business and Industry
Germany - Science and Technology
Graduate Study
Harvard University
Illinois Board of Natural Resources
Industrial Chemistry
International Sugar Research Foundation
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Krebiozen
Laboratory Notes
Marijuana
Music -- Australia - Science and Technology
Music -- India - Science and Technology
Music -- Japan - Business and Industry
Music -- Japan - Science and Technology
National Academy of Sciences (NAS)
National Defense Research Committee
National Science Foundation (NSF)
New Guinea - History and Geography
New Zealand - Business and Industry
New Zealand - Science and Technology
Organic Chemistry
Organic Reactions
Organic Syntheses
Otto Haas Trust Fund
Research
Robert Welch Foundation
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Institute
Synthetic Products
University Patents
World War I - Scientific Research and Development
World War II - Diplomacy and Politics
World War II - Intelligence, Morale and Propaganda
World War II - Military Government and Peace
World War II - Scientific Research and Development
URL: https://files.archon.library.illinois.edu/uasfa/1505023.pdf
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