Robert L. Scott *45

Robert Scott, professor emeritus of physical chemistry at University of California, Los Angeles, died May 1, 2016. He was 94.

Scott graduated from Harvard in 1942, majoring in chemistry. In 1945, he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton. After working at Princeton and Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project, in 1946 he did post-doctoral research at University of California, Berkeley.

In 1948, Scott was appointed an assistant professor at UCLA. He remained in the department of chemistry and biochemistry until he retired in 1993. At UCLA, he developed an experimental and theoretical research program in thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, establishing him as a leading expert in the physical chemistry of liquids, polymer, and nonelectrolyte solutions. He received the 1984 American Chemical Society’s Hildebrand (“Liquids”) Award. He also had received Guggenheim, NSF, and Fulbright awards.

For five years, Scott served as his department’s chair. For nearly 20 years after his retirement, he remained active in the department — refereeing papers, attending seminars, and serving as a problem-solver about statistical mechanics and thermodynamics. His students remember him for his hospitality. Scott donated to Princeton’s Graduate School Annual Giving campaign for 40 years.

He is survived by his wife, Libby, and four children.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.