Norman Hackerman

Norman Hackerman
Born	March 2, 1912(1912-03-02) Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Died	June 16, 2007(2007-06-16) (aged 95) Temple, Texas, USA
Occupation	Chemist, teacher, researcher, university president
Spouse	Gene Coulbourn (deceased)
Children	three daughters and one son

Norman Hackerman (March 2, 1912 – June 16, 2007) was an American chemist, internationally known as an expert in metal corrosion, and a former president of both the University of Texas at Austin (1967–1970) and Rice University (1970–1985).

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he was the only son of Jacob Hackerman and Anna Raffel, immigrants from the Baltic regions of the Russian Empire that later became Estonia and Latvia, respectively. ^[1]

Hackerman earned his bachelor's degree in 1932 and his doctor's degree in chemistry in 1935 from Johns Hopkins University. He taught at Johns Hopkins, Loyola College in Baltimore and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, before working on the Manhattan Project in World War II.^[2]

He joined the University of Texas in 1945 as an assistant professor of chemistry, became an associate professor in 1946, a full professor in 1950, a department chair in 1952, dean of research in 1960, vice president and provost in 1961, and vice chancellor for academic affairs for the University of Texas System in 1963. Hackerman left the University of Texas in 1970 for Rice, where he retired 15 years later. He was named professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Texas in 1985 and taught classes until the end of his life.^{[citation needed]}

He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among his many honors are the Palladium Medal of the Electrochemical Society, the Gold Medal of the American Institute of Chemists, the Charles Lathrop Parsons Award, the Vannevar Bush Award and the National Medal of Science.^[3]

Hackerman served on advisory committees and boards of several technical societies and government agencies, including the National Science Board, the Texas Governor's Task Force on Higher Education and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Welch Foundation. He also served as editor of the Journal of Electrochemistry and as president of the Electrochemical Society.^{[citation needed]}

Family

Hackerman's wife of 61 years, Gene Coulbourn, died in 2002; they had three daughters and one son.

Legacy

In 2000 the Welch Foundation created the Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research to recognize the work of young researchers in Texas. The Rice Board of Trustees established the Norman Hackerman Fellowship in Chemistry in honor of Hackerman's 90th birthday in 2002. In 2008, the original Experimental Science Building at the University of Texas at Austin campus was demolished and rebuilt as the Norman Hackerman Experimental Science Building in his name and honor. The building was completed in late-2010, with the opening and dedication ceremony on March 2, 2011, which was both Hackerman's 99th Birthday and the 175th Anniversary of Texas Independence.

References

1. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (June 23, 2007). "Norman Hackerman, 95, Chemist and Former University President, Is Dead". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/23/us/23hackerman.html. Retrieved May 20, 2010. 
2. ^ "Former President Norman Hackerman Dies in Temple, Texas at Age 95". University of Texas at Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/2007/06/hackerman18.html. 
3. ^ "Former Rice University President Norman Hackerman dies at age 95". Rice University. http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=9694. 

External links

• Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research
• Electrochemical Society Norman Hackerman Young Author Award

Academic offices
Preceded by Harry Ransom	President of University of Texas at Austin 1967-1970	Succeeded by Bryce Jordan
Preceded by Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer	President of Rice University 1970-1985	Succeeded by George Erik Rupp

Persondata
Name	Hackerman, Norman
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 2, 1912
Place of birth	Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Date of death	June 16, 2007
Place of death	Temple, Texas, USA