Biography of George W. Flynn
- Tinsley H. Davis, Freelance Science Writer
When molecules collide, energy is thrown into flux, shifting modes, converting types, or becoming excited enough to rupture the strongest of chemical bonds. Current knowledge of energy transfer in molecules has been revolutionized by the study of such quantum state kinetics, and physical chemist George W. Flynn has contributed greatly to this area with his inquiries into vibrational energy modes. Flynn, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry at Columbia University (New York, NY) and a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 2001, examines the molecular dynamics and assembly of halogens in his Inaugural Article in this issue of PNAS (1). Flynn and his coworkers show that the self-assembly of haloethane arrays is controlled by the nature of the halogen attached, which in turn changes the van der Waal's forces between molecules, as well as the forces between molecules and surface. For more than a decade, Flynn has used scanning tunneling microscopy to spy on molecules, learning how they spontaneously arrange themselves into highly ordered patterns, and, throughout his career, he has systematically followed the kinetic properties of energy flow within individual molecules.
Pure Start to Science
Flynn was born in Hartford, CT, in 1938. Growing up, he loved to read science fiction and would often walk down the block to the local library branch to read such books. Initially, Flynn wanted to be an engineer because, to him, it meant blending science and technology. But in high school, an impressionable young Flynn chose science over engineering. “An older classmate mentioned, `I happen to like pure science,' and I decided right at that moment that I liked pure science, too,” he says. “`Pure science' sounded much more noble than being an engineer.”
Flynn credits his senior-year high school chemistry teacher, Harold Coburn, with piquing his interest in chemistry. A “very skilled teacher,” Coburn encouraged …
