I remember Walter Kauzmann very well. But I didn’t know that he loved New Mexico. I grew up in that state, and we could have had some nice conversations about “The Land of Enchantment.”
I especially remember taking the physical chemistry comprehensive exam in 1963. To our great surprise, there was a question on organic chemical reaction mechanisms. When we protested, Kauzmann quipped in his inimitable style, “Physical organic chemistry.”
Decades later, my neighbor in senior living was Andrew Streitweiser, Berkeley’s pioneer in physical organic chemistry. When I told him about seeing a “Streitweiser-style question” on our Princeton comprehensive exam, he revealed that he and Kauzmann had many brainstorming sessions in the 1950s.
I remember Walter Kauzmann very well. But I didn’t know that he loved New Mexico. I grew up in that state, and we could have had some nice conversations about “The Land of Enchantment.”
I especially remember taking the physical chemistry comprehensive exam in 1963. To our great surprise, there was a question on organic chemical reaction mechanisms. When we protested, Kauzmann quipped in his inimitable style, “Physical organic chemistry.”
Decades later, my neighbor in senior living was Andrew Streitweiser, Berkeley’s pioneer in physical organic chemistry. When I told him about seeing a “Streitweiser-style question” on our Princeton comprehensive exam, he revealed that he and Kauzmann had many brainstorming sessions in the 1950s.