Odd Hassel

Odd Hassel
Born	17 May 1897(1897-05-17) Kristiania, Norway
Died	11 May 1981(1981-05-11) (aged 83)
Nationality	Norway
Fields	Physical chemistry
Alma mater	University of Oslo
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1969)

Odd Hassel (17 May 1897 – 11 May 1981) was a Norwegian physical chemist and Nobel Laureate.

Biography

Born in Kristiania, his parents were Ernst Hassel, a gynaecologist, and Mathilde Klaveness. In 1915, he entered the University of Oslo where he studied mathematics, physics and chemistry, and graduated in 1920. After taking a year off from studying, he went to Munich, Germany to work in the laboratory of Professor Kasimir Fajans.^[1] His work there led to the detection of absorption indicators. After moving to Berlin, he worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, where he began to research X-ray crystallography.^[2] He furthered his research with a Rockefeller Fellowship, obtained with the help of Fritz Haber. In 1924, he obtained his PhD from the Berlin University, before moving to the University of Oslo, where he worked from 1925 through 1964, as a professor from 1934.^[3]

Career

Back in Oslo, Hassel originally focused on inorganic chemistry, but beginning in 1930 his work concentrated on problems connected with molecular structure, particularly the structure of cyclohexane and its derivatives. He introduced the Norwegian scientific community to the concepts of the electric dipole moments and electron diffraction. After publishing a paper on the conformations of cyclohexane,^{[citation needed]} Hassel was arrested by the occupation authorities on 15 Octobe 1943. After a time in Bredtveit concentration camp until 22 November 1943, he was sent to Berg concentration camp, and on 9 December 1943 further to Grini concentration camp. He remained here until 6 November 1944.^[4]

Nobel Prize

Beginning in 1950, Hassel investigated the structure of charge-transfer compounds, and was eventually able to set up rules for the geometry of this kind of compound. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1969, alongside Derek Barton.

References

1. ^ Candid Science III: More Conversations with Famous Chemists, Istvan Hargittai, Magdolna Hargittai, Imperial College Press, 2003.
2. ^ Odd Hassel biography bookrags.com
3. ^ Odd Hassel - The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1969, nobelprize.org
4. ^ Ottosen, Kristian, ed (2004) (in Norwegian). Nordmenn i fangenskap 1940–1945 (2nd ed.). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. p. 289. ISBN 82-15-00288-9. 

External links

• Hassel's Nobel Foundation biography
• Hassel's Nobel Lecture Structural Aspects of Interatomic Charge-Transfer Bonding

Persondata
Name	Hassel, Odd
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	17 May 1897
Place of birth	Kristiania, Norway
Date of death	11 May 1981
Place of death