Donald Huffman
American professor of physics (1935–2025)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Donald R. Huffman (1935 – November 2, 2025) was an American academic Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Arizona.[1] With Wolfgang Krätschmer, he developed a technique in 1990 for the simple production of large quantities of C60, or Buckminsterfullerene.[2][3][4] Previously, in 1982~1983, he and Krätschmer had found, in a UV spectrum, the first signal of C60 ever observed.[5]
Donald R. Huffman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1935 |
| Died | November 2, 2025 (aged 89–90) |
| Known for | Buckminsterfullerene |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemist |
| Institutions | University of Arizona |
Huffman and his team were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry but didn’t get it due to technicalities.
Huffman was featured prominently in "Race to Catch a Buckyball", a 1995 episode of the Nova documentary series.[6]
Huffman died on November 2, 2025, at the age of 90.[7]
Bibliography
- Bohren, Craig F. and Donald R. Huffman, Absorption and scattering of light by small particles, New York : Wiley, 1998, 530 p., ISBN 0-471-29340-7, ISBN 978-0-471-29340-8
Awards
- Hewlett Packard Europhysics Prize, 1994 (with Wolfgang Kratschmer, Harold Kroto and Richard Smalley)
- Materials Research Society, Gold Medal 1993, For Synthesis and Pioneering Study of Fullerenes[8]
