UC Santa Cruz chemistry professor Rebecca Braslau ’81 wrote to me today regarding the recent passing of her long-time Santa Cruz colleague, Joe Bunnett ’42. For those seeking a rich, deep understanding of Joe’s life, and what he meant to the chemical community, here is Rebecca’s portrait:
Joseph F. Bunnett (Reed ‘42), Emeritus Trustee to Reed College and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at University of California Santa Cruz, passed away on May 23, 2015 in Santa Cruz, California. Joe was born in Portland, Oregon, on November 26, 1921. He attended Wilkes Grade School and Washington High School. Joe met Sara Anne Telfer Bunnett ’42 the evening of their first day on the Reed campus in 1938, and were married in 1942. They had three sons and two grandsons.
A chemistry major at Reed, Joe obtained his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester in 1945. He worked as a Research Chemist for Western Pine Association from 1945-46. He then started a career in academia, teaching at Reed from 1946-1952, and then moved to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1952-58), followed by a move to Brown University (1958-66). His research focus was on kinetics, equilibria and mechanisms of organic reactions, including reactions that involve single electron transfer steps, exemplified by the SRN1 (Substitution Reaction Nucleophilic Unimolecular) process. In 1966 Joe was recruited to help build the nascent Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the newly opened campus at UC Santa Cruz. He continued a distinguished career as one of the most nationally and internationally respected physical organic chemists, making his mark not only in publishing seminal papers in the area of organic reaction mechanisms, but also as an educator and leader. His seminal contributions to understanding physical organic reactivity continue to be considered classics in reaction mechanism. He was a founding editor of one of the top American Chemistry Society journals, Accounts of Chemical Research. This journal established a new paradigm, publishing short, concise, scholarly articles offering overviews of basic research in all areas of chemistry. He formally retired from his faculty position in 1991, turning his professional attention to the detection and destruction of chemical warfare agents. In this capacity, he chaired the IUPAC Task Force on Scientific Aspects of the Destruction of Chemical Warfare Agents (1991-95). He served on committees of the National Research Council and the Defense Science Board Task Force on Persian Gulf War Health Effects (1993-94), and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He participated in and co-chaired several NATO Advanced Research Workshops on the destruction of chemical weapons, including work on decommissioning some of the Soviet military chemical arsenal.
Joe was known for his wit and willingness to buck convention. While at Reed, he told colleagues he was working on his “SAT” scores (while dating Sara Anne Telfer). In 1970 he published a paper in the Journal of Organic Chemistry entitled “Comparative Mobility of Halogens in Reactions of Dihalobenzenes with Potassium Amide in Ammonia;” the entire paper (with the exception of the experimental section) was in iambic pentameter, a first and last for that journal. In 1998, he co-authored a book chapter entitled “Arsenic and Old Mustard: Chemical Problems in the Destruction of Old Arsenical and ‘Mustard’ Munitions.” A framed needlepoint prominently displayed in his office proclaimed “Don’t make verifiable assumptions!”
Joe received numerous honors in recognition of his many outstanding contributions to the understanding of chemical reactions. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1942 (Reed College), was a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and twice a Fulbright Fellow. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1959), and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was elected Honorary Member of numerous European and South American chemical societies, and he was the recipient of the 1992 James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry by the American Chemical Society, and the 1995 University of Rochester Distinguished Scholar Medal. Joe mentored scores of undergraduate students, graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in his labs. Over his career, he published 291 scientific articles. He served on the editorial advisory boards of the Journal of Chemical Education, the Journal of Organic Chemistry, and Accounts of Chemical Research.
Joe Bunnett was a strong advocate for undergraduate education and undergraduate research. He established a coveted prize at UCSC, the Undergraduate Bunnett Research Award, which continues to this day. Joe served as an Alumni Trustee to Reed College from 1970-74, followed by service as a regular Trustee until 1997, and thereafter as a Trustee Emeritus. To honor his scientific contributions, in 2001 the Bunnett Lecture was established at UCSC, which takes place annually on the first Friday in May, featuring an eminent scholar in the field of chemistry. He regularly attended this event, including the most recent meeting that took place three weeks prior to his passing. His beloved wife Sara passed away in 2006. He is survived by his eldest son Alfred, and several grandsons.