Boranes and Beyond

Armed with a PhD in Organic Chemistry from UCLA in 1953, Professor Hawthorne went on to establish himself as a giant in Inorganic Chemistry.  He was a true chemistry pioneer, discovering boron cluster structures that have paved the way in inorganic, organometallic, material, nanotechnology and medicinal sciences.  He returned to UCLA in 1968 and was a distinguished Professor of Inorganic Chemistry for thirty-three years.  After retiring from UCLA Professor Hawthorne moved to the University of Missouri to further his research, and in so doing broadened the field even more.  Along the way as he shaped and broadened the field, he also touched the lives of countless students, faculty, researchers, friends and family throughout the world.  Along with many other awards at home and internationally, in honor of his contributions, the American Chemical Society established the “M. Frederick Hawthorne Award in Main Group Inorganic Chemistry” in 2017.

• PART I MY CONTRIBUTIONS TO INORGANIC CHEMISTRY.- 1. Exploratory Chemistry with a Multifunctional Model Borane, B10H14.- 2. Discovery of the Polyhedral Borane Anions [closo-B10H10]2-.- 3.The Genesis and Evolution of Carborane Chemistry:  Examples of Heteroatom-Substituted Borane Clusters.- 4. The Design and Synthesis of Hybrid Borane Clusters:  Metallacarboranes and Metallaboranes.- 5. Probing New Reactions:  Oxidative Addition to B-H Bonds, Reactions at Metal Vertices and Catalysis.- 6.- The Search for “Clustered Clusters”.- 7. Unique Main Group, Lanthanide and Alkaline-Earth Metallacarboranes;  Sandwiches, Baskets, and Self-Assembled Chains.- 8. Biomedical Applications of Borane Cluster Chemistry.- 9.Carborane-Supported Macrocyclic Lewis Acids:  Novel Electrophilic Host Species.- 10. Molecular Frameworks Based upon Carborane Cages.- 11.Highly Alkylated Carborane Icosahedral [closo-B12H12]2- Derivatives (“Camouflaged Carboranes and Polyhedral Boranes).- 12. Icosahedral Borane Dianion and Carborane Species with Hydroxylated Surfaces.- 13. Advances in [closo-B10H10]2- and Related [B20H18]2-/[B20H18]4 – Chemistry.- A FEW PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE ALBUM.- PART II MY PERSONAL STORY.- 14. Early Life in Kansas and Missouri.- 15. WW II, High School and Chemistry.- 16. College Entry and Chemistry Mentor.- 17. Pomona College and Research.- 18. UCLA Graduate Work with Donald J. Cram, and Predoctoral Fellowship.- 19. PhD Thesis.- 20. Postdoctoral Research with George Hammond at Iowa State.- 21. Huntsville Research at Start of Career.- 22. Life With Explosives and Rockets.- 23. Creating A New Research Group Based Upon Sparsely Known Borane Chemistry.- 24. Success in New Fields of Propellant Chemistry.- 25. Moving on to New Concepts for Solid PropellantRocket Fuel.- 26. Energetic Materials.- 27. Ralph Connor and Rohm and Haas Huntsville.- 28. Harvard Teaching.- 29. Laboratory Head at Rohm and Haas Philadelphia.- 30. Full Professor at UC Riverside and Flying.- 31. Metallacarboranes etc.- 32. Flying with Herb Brown, Nobel Laureate.- 33. Hank Herring.- 34. Industrial and Military Consulting.- 35. Boron Neutron Capture Therapy.- 36. UCLA Professor 1969 to 2006.- 37. Editorship of Inorganic Chemistry.- 38. Return to Missouri:  The Founding Director for The International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine.- 39. Personal Experience with Head and Neck Cancer.- 40. BNCT Odyssey.- AFTER-WORDS.- BIBLIOGRAPHY.- AWARDS, HONORS AND LECTURESHIPS.