Turro Nicholas J.
Nicholas J. Turro was born in Middletown, CT. in 1938, and passed away on November 24, 2012 following a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was married to his wife Sandra for 52 years with whom he had two daughters.[1]
Turro received a B.A. in Chemistry from Wesleyan (CT) University in 1960. He then earned his Ph.D. in Organic Photochemistry under George S. Hammond at the California Institute of Technology in 1963 and was an NSF Post-Doctoral Fellow in Physical Organic Chemistry with Paul Bartlett at Harvard University from 1963-1964.
Nicholas J. Turro was the William P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University where he taught from 1964 until 2012. He also held professorships in the Department of Chemical Engineering and the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering (full list of appointments below). He sponsored the Ph.D. thesis of over 70 students and mentored over 200 post-docs. Over 100 undergraduates were trained in research under his supervision.
Additionally, Turro was heavily involved in the development of information technologies for the teaching of science since the early 1990s. At Columbia University he organized a "Faculty-Student Information Technology Cluster" which provided resources for faculty in the sciences to develop IT tools for use in their courses. After a three year period, the activities of the "Cluster" were taken over by the University through the establishment of a Center for New Media for Teaching and Learning (now the Center for Teaching and Learning).
Appointments: (all at Columbia University)
- Co-Chairman of Chemical Engineering, 1997-2000
- Chairman, Chemistry Department, 1981-83
- Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering, 1998-2012
- Professor of Chemical Engineering, 1997-2012
- Wm. P. Schweitzer Professor of Chemistry, 1981-2012
- Professor of Chemistry, 1969-81
- Associate Professor of Chemistry, 1967-69
- Assistant Professor of Chemistry. 1965-67
- Instructor of Chemistry, 1964-65
