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{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Anthony Leonid Turkevich
| name = Anthony Leonid Turkevich
| image = <!--(filename only)-->
| image = Anthony L. Turkevich, 1962.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption = Turkevich in 1962
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|7|23}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1916|7|23}}
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York]], USA
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]], USA
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|9|7|1916|7|23}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2002|9|7|1916|7|23}}
| death_place = [[Lexington, Virginia]], USA
| death_place = [[Lexington, Virginia]], USA
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| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} -->
| resting_place_coordinates = <!-- {{Coord|LAT|LONG|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} -->
| residence =
| residence =
| citizenship = American
| nationality =
| fields = [[Radiochemistry]]
| fields = [[Radiochemistry]]
| workplaces =
| workplaces =
| alma_mater = [[Dartmouth College]]<br>[[Princeton University]]
| alma_mater = [[Dartmouth College]] (B.S.)<br>[[Princeton University]] (Ph.D)
| thesis_title =
| thesis_title =
| thesis_url =
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| influences =
| influences =
| influenced =
| influenced =
| awards = [[Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award|E. O. Lawrence Award]] (1962)<br>[[Atoms for Peace Award]] (1969)
| awards =
| signature = <!--(filename only)-->
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}}


'''Anthony Leonid Turkevich''' (July 23, 1916 &ndash; September 7, 2002) was an American [[radiochemistry|radiochemist]] who was the first to determine the composition of the [[Moon]]'s surface using an [[APXS|alpha scattering spectrometer]] on the [[Surveyor 5]] mission in 1967.<ref name=obit-nyt>{{cite news|title=A. L. Turkevich Is Dead at 86; Ascertained Moon's Makeup|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/21/us/a-l-turkevich-is-dead-at-86-ascertained-moon-s-makeup.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 September 2002|author=CARMEL McCOUBREY}}</ref>
'''Anthony Leonid Turkevich''' (July 23, 1916 &ndash; September 7, 2002) was an American [[radiochemistry|radiochemist]] who was the first to determine the composition of the [[Moon]]'s surface using an [[APXS|alpha scattering spectrometer]] on the [[Surveyor 5]] mission in 1967.<ref name=obit-nyt>{{cite news|title=A. L. Turkevich Is Dead at 86; Ascertained Moon's Makeup|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/21/us/a-l-turkevich-is-dead-at-86-ascertained-moon-s-makeup.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 September 2002|author=Carmel McCoubrey}}</ref>


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Turkevich was born on July 23, 1916, in [[Manhattan]], [[New York]], at the bishop's house attached to Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral.<ref name=obit-nyt/> His father, [[Leonty (Turkevich)|Leonty Turkevich]], was dean at the time, and later became the [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] in North America.<ref name=Schmemann>{{cite web |url=http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/leonty.html |title="Metropolitan Leonty" |accessdate=2007-01-12 |last=Schmemann |first=Alexander}}</ref><ref name=obit-nyt/> He had two brothers.<ref name=bio-nas/> Turkevich studied at [[Dartmouth College]] and obtained his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1937.<ref name=obit-nyt/> He completed his Ph.D. at [[Princeton University]] on the structure of small molecules in 1940.<ref name=bio-nas>{{cite book|title=Biographical Memoirs. Volume 90.|year=2009|coauthors=R. Stephen Berry, Robert N. Clayton, George A. Cowan, Thanasis E. Economou|publisher=National Academy of Sciences|isbn=978-0-309-12148-4|pages=432-448|url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12562&page=432|author=Office of the Home Secretary}}</ref>
Turkevich was born on July 23, 1916, in [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]], at the bishop's house attached to [[St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral (Manhattan)|Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral]].<ref name=obit-nyt/> His father, [[Leontius (Turkevich)|Leonid Turkevich]], was dean at the time, and later became the [[Metropolitan bishop|Metropolitan]] of the [[Orthodox Church in America|Orthodox Church in North America]].<ref name=obit-nyt/><ref name=Schmemann>{{cite web |url=http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/leonty.html |title=Metropolitan Leonty |accessdate=2007-01-12 |last=Schmemann |first=Alexander}}</ref> He had two brothers.<ref name=bio-nas/> Turkevich studied at [[Dartmouth College]] and obtained his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1937.<ref name=obit-nyt/> He completed his Ph.D. at [[Princeton University]] on the structure of small molecules in 1940.<ref name=bio-nas>{{cite book|title=Biographical Memoirs. Volume 90.|year=2009|author=R. Stephen Berry|authorlink=R. Stephen Berry |author2=Robert N. Clayton |author3=George A. Cowan|authorlink3=George Cowan |author4=Thanasis E. Economou|publisher=National Academy of Sciences, Office of the Home Secretary|isbn=978-0-309-12148-4|pages=432–448|url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=12562&page=432}}</ref>

==Career==
==Career==
Turkevich moved to the Department of Physics at the [[University of Chicago]] as a research assistant with [[Robert Mulliken]] where he studed molecular [[spectroscopy]] and [[nuclear fission products]].<ref name=bio-nas/>
Turkevich moved to the Department of Physics at the [[University of Chicago]] as a research assistant with [[Robert Mulliken]] where he studied molecular [[spectroscopy]] and [[nuclear fission products]].<ref name=bio-nas/>


In 1942, during [[World War II]], he joined the [[Manhattan Project]], working initially at Columbia University. The Columbia laboratory group was asked to move to Chicago as part of the project and from 1943 to 1945 he worked at the [[Metallurgical Laboratory]] or "Met Lab", at the University of Chicago. He investigated the separation of [[uranium isotopes]] by [[gaseous diffusion]] of [[uranium hexafluoride]] and the radiochemistry of reactor products, such as [[plutonium]], that are generated by [[neutron capture]] in uranium. In 1945, he transferred to [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]], and was involved with the [[Trinity test]], the first detonation of a [[nuclear weapon|nuclear device]], near [[Alamogordo, New Mexico]], on July 16, 1945.<ref name=bio-nas/>
In 1942, during [[World War II]], he joined the [[Manhattan Project]], working initially at Columbia University. The Columbia laboratory group was asked to move to Chicago as part of the project and from 1943 to 1945 he worked at the [[Metallurgical Laboratory]] or "Met Lab", at the University of Chicago. He investigated the separation of [[uranium isotopes]] by [[gaseous diffusion]] of [[uranium hexafluoride]] and the radiochemistry of reactor products, such as [[plutonium]], that are generated by [[neutron capture]] in uranium. In 1945, he transferred to [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]], and was involved with the [[Trinity test]], the first detonation of a [[nuclear weapon|nuclear device]], near [[Alamogordo, New Mexico]], on July 16, 1945. Turkevich was one of several scientists who estimated the amount of energy released in the explosion. He then transferred to [[Edward Teller]]'s theory group to study [[nuclear fusion]] and establish whether producing a [[thermonuclear weapon]] was feasible, one of many challenges faced by scientists at Los Alamos that led to the development and use of the [[Monte Carlo method]]. He worked with [[Nicholas Metropolis]] and [[Stanley Frankel]] using the [[ENIAC]] computer.<ref name=bio-nas/>


Turkevich returned to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago as an assistant professor in 1946. In July 1946, Turkevich and Seymour Katcoff suggested that nuclear explosions could be monitored by measuring the atmospheric concentration of the radioactive isotope [[krypton-85]], a fission product. Turkevich wrote a letter to [[Philip Morrison]] proposing that atmospheric sampling could be used to estimate the number of fissions that had occurred in [[nuclear reactors]] and [[nuclear weapons testing|atmospheric atom bomb tests]]. The history of this aspect of Turkevich's work didn't become public until it was declassified in 1997.<ref name=bio-nas/>
He also worked on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. For this latter work, he received the 1969 [[Atoms for Peace Award]].

He also worked on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. For this latter work, he received the 1969 [[Atoms for Peace Award]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Economou, Thanasis|author2=Wasserburg, Gerald J.|authorlink2=Gerald J. Wasserburg|title=Obituary: Anthony Leonid Turkevich|journal=Physics Today|date=June 2003|volume=56|issue=6|pages=78|doi=10.1063/1.1595067|doi-access=free}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Turkevich married Ireene ("Renee") in September 1948.<ref name=bio-nas/> They had a son and a daughter.<ref name=ucno/> Turkevich had two brothers.<ref name=bio-nas/> His elder brother, John Turkevich (1907 &ndash; 1998), was Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry at Princeton,<ref name=obit-jt-pu>{{cite web|title=John Turkevich|url=http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/98/0406/0406-2a.html|work=Princeton Weekly Bulletin|publisher=Princeton University|date=6 April 1998}}</ref><ref name=obit-jt-nyt>{{cite news|title=John Turkevich, 91, Pioneer in Use of Catalysts|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/nyregion/john-turkevich-91-pioneer-in-use-of-catalysts.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 April 1998|author=FORD BURKHART}}</ref> and his younger brother, Nicholas L. Turkevich (1918 &ndash; 2007), was an international advertising executive.<ref name=obit-nlt-oca>{{cite web|title=Nicholas L. Turkevich|url=http://oca.org/in-memoriam/nicholas-l.-turkevich|work=In Memoriam|publisher=The Orthodox Church in America|date=12 April 2007}}</ref> Anthony Turkevich died on September 7, 2002, in [[Lexington, Virginia]], aged 86.<ref name=ucno>{{cite web|title=Anthony Turkevich, Radiochemist, 1916-2002|url=http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/02/020912.turkevich.shtml|publisher=University of Chicago News Office|date=12 September 2002}}</ref>
Turkevich married Ireene ("Renee") in September 1948.<ref name=bio-nas/> They had a son and a daughter.<ref name=ucno/> Turkevich had two brothers.<ref name=bio-nas/> His elder brother, John Turkevich (1907 &ndash; 1998), was Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry at Princeton,<ref name=obit-jt-pu>{{cite web|title=John Turkevich|url=https://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/98/0406/0406-2a.html|work=Princeton Weekly Bulletin|publisher=Princeton University|date=6 April 1998}}</ref><ref name=obit-jt-nyt>{{cite news|title=John Turkevich, 91, Pioneer in Use of Catalysts|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/06/nyregion/john-turkevich-91-pioneer-in-use-of-catalysts.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 April 1998|author=FORD BURKHART}}</ref> and his younger brother, Nicholas L. Turkevich (1918 &ndash; 2007), was an international advertising executive.<ref name=obit-nlt-oca>{{cite web|title=Nicholas L. Turkevich|url=http://oca.org/in-memoriam/nicholas-l.-turkevich|work=In Memoriam|publisher=The Orthodox Church in America|date=12 April 2007}}</ref> Anthony Turkevich died on September 7, 2002, in [[Lexington, Virginia]], aged 86.<ref name=ucno>{{cite web|title=Anthony Turkevich, Radiochemist, 1916-2002|url=http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/02/020912.turkevich.shtml|publisher=University of Chicago News Office|date=12 September 2002}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Turkevich, Anthony L.
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American chemist
| DATE OF BIRTH = July 23, 1916
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Manhattan, New York
| DATE OF DEATH = September 7, 2002
| PLACE OF DEATH = Lexington, Virginia
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkevich, Anthony L.}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkevich, Anthony L.}}
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:1916 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:American chemists]]
[[Category:20th-century American chemists]]
[[Category:Nuclear chemists]]
[[Category:Nuclear chemists]]
[[Category:Atoms for Peace Award recipients]]
[[Category:Atoms for Peace Award recipients]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]

[[Category:Princeton University alumni]]

[[Category:University of Chicago faculty]]
{{US-chemist-stub}}
[[Category:Manhattan Project people]]

[[de:Anthony L. Turkevich]]

Latest revision as of 21:09, 14 June 2024

Anthony Leonid Turkevich
Turkevich in 1962
Born(1916-07-23)July 23, 1916
Manhattan, New York, USA
DiedSeptember 7, 2002(2002-09-07) (aged 86)
Lexington, Virginia, USA
Alma materDartmouth College (B.S.)
Princeton University (Ph.D)
AwardsE. O. Lawrence Award (1962)
Atoms for Peace Award (1969)
Scientific career
FieldsRadiochemistry

Anthony Leonid Turkevich (July 23, 1916 – September 7, 2002) was an American radiochemist who was the first to determine the composition of the Moon's surface using an alpha scattering spectrometer on the Surveyor 5 mission in 1967.[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Turkevich was born on July 23, 1916, in Manhattan, New York, at the bishop's house attached to Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral.[1] His father, Leonid Turkevich, was dean at the time, and later became the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in North America.[1][2] He had two brothers.[3] Turkevich studied at Dartmouth College and obtained his bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1937.[1] He completed his Ph.D. at Princeton University on the structure of small molecules in 1940.[3]

Career

[edit]

Turkevich moved to the Department of Physics at the University of Chicago as a research assistant with Robert Mulliken where he studied molecular spectroscopy and nuclear fission products.[3]

In 1942, during World War II, he joined the Manhattan Project, working initially at Columbia University. The Columbia laboratory group was asked to move to Chicago as part of the project and from 1943 to 1945 he worked at the Metallurgical Laboratory or "Met Lab", at the University of Chicago. He investigated the separation of uranium isotopes by gaseous diffusion of uranium hexafluoride and the radiochemistry of reactor products, such as plutonium, that are generated by neutron capture in uranium. In 1945, he transferred to Los Alamos, and was involved with the Trinity test, the first detonation of a nuclear device, near Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. Turkevich was one of several scientists who estimated the amount of energy released in the explosion. He then transferred to Edward Teller's theory group to study nuclear fusion and establish whether producing a thermonuclear weapon was feasible, one of many challenges faced by scientists at Los Alamos that led to the development and use of the Monte Carlo method. He worked with Nicholas Metropolis and Stanley Frankel using the ENIAC computer.[3]

Turkevich returned to the Department of Chemistry at the University of Chicago as an assistant professor in 1946. In July 1946, Turkevich and Seymour Katcoff suggested that nuclear explosions could be monitored by measuring the atmospheric concentration of the radioactive isotope krypton-85, a fission product. Turkevich wrote a letter to Philip Morrison proposing that atmospheric sampling could be used to estimate the number of fissions that had occurred in nuclear reactors and atmospheric atom bomb tests. The history of this aspect of Turkevich's work didn't become public until it was declassified in 1997.[3]

He also worked on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. For this latter work, he received the 1969 Atoms for Peace Award.[4]

Personal life

[edit]

Turkevich married Ireene ("Renee") in September 1948.[3] They had a son and a daughter.[5] Turkevich had two brothers.[3] His elder brother, John Turkevich (1907 – 1998), was Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry at Princeton,[6][7] and his younger brother, Nicholas L. Turkevich (1918 – 2007), was an international advertising executive.[8] Anthony Turkevich died on September 7, 2002, in Lexington, Virginia, aged 86.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Carmel McCoubrey (21 September 2002). "A. L. Turkevich Is Dead at 86; Ascertained Moon's Makeup". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Schmemann, Alexander. "Metropolitan Leonty". Retrieved 2007-01-12.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g R. Stephen Berry; Robert N. Clayton; George A. Cowan; Thanasis E. Economou (2009). Biographical Memoirs. Volume 90. National Academy of Sciences, Office of the Home Secretary. pp. 432–448. ISBN 978-0-309-12148-4.
  4. ^ Economou, Thanasis; Wasserburg, Gerald J. (June 2003). "Obituary: Anthony Leonid Turkevich". Physics Today. 56 (6): 78. doi:10.1063/1.1595067.
  5. ^ a b "Anthony Turkevich, Radiochemist, 1916-2002". University of Chicago News Office. 12 September 2002.
  6. ^ "John Turkevich". Princeton Weekly Bulletin. Princeton University. 6 April 1998.
  7. ^ FORD BURKHART (6 April 1998). "John Turkevich, 91, Pioneer in Use of Catalysts". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Nicholas L. Turkevich". In Memoriam. The Orthodox Church in America. 12 April 2007.
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