Photo: GFHund — Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
Gerhard Herzberg
1904–1999 · Canada, Germany · Born 1900–1939
Nobel Chemistry 1971
German-born Canadian scientist regarded as the founder of molecular spectroscopy; author of the classic four-volume spectra series.
Nobel-winning work
Using high-resolution molecular spectroscopy at the National Research Council of Canada, Herzberg determined the electronic structure and geometry of many molecules, including short-lived free radicals such as methylene (CH₂) and methyl (CH₃). This work, crowned by the 1971 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, made spectroscopy the key to molecular structure and to the chemistry of the atmosphere and interstellar space.
Fields
Related topics
Vibrational, rotational and electronic spectra
Connect molecular energy-level structure to rotational, vibrational–rotational and vibronic spectra, and learn how line positions and intensities encode molecular properties.
Excited-state dynamics
Follow the evolution of molecular wavepackets after photoexcitation, from ultrafast relaxation and conical intersections to measurable spectra and reaction outcomes.