Arthur W. Adamson was a distinguished chemist who is considered a pioneer in inorganic photochemistry

Photochemistry

Photochemistry, a sub-discipline of chemistry, is the study of chemical reactions that proceed with the absorption of light by atoms or molecules.. Everyday examples include photosynthesis, the degradation of plastics and the formation of vitamin D with sunlight.-Principles:Light is a type of...

. His research made significant contributions to the understanding of physical adsorption and contact angle

Contact angle

The contact angle is the angle at which a liquid/vapor interface meets a solid surface. The contact angle is specific for any given system and is determined by the interactions across the three interfaces. Most often the concept is illustrated with a small liquid droplet resting on a flat...

 phenomena, and the thermodynamics of surfaces and irreversible adsorption. Born in Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, he received his B.S. in chemistry at the University of California at Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 in 1940 and his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 in 1944. After two years as a research associate for the Manhattan Project

Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...

 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...

, he began a career at the University of Southern California

University of Southern California

The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...

 that extended through his appointment as professor emeritus in 1989. He chaired the USC Department of Chemistry from 1972 to 1975.

Awards included: the Richard C. Tolman

Richard C. Tolman

Richard Chace Tolman was an American mathematical physicist and physical chemist who was an authority on statistical mechanics. He also made important contributions to theoretical cosmology in the years soon after Einstein's discovery of general relativity...

 Medal in 1967, the 1979 American Chemical Society

American Chemical Society

The American Chemical Society is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 161,000 members at all degree-levels and in all fields of chemistry, chemical...

 (ACS) Kendall Award in Surface or Colloid Chemistry, the 1982 ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry, the 1984 ACS Award in Chemical Education (now renamed the George C. Pimentel

George C. Pimentel

George Claude Pimentel was the inventor of the chemical laser. He also developed the modern technique of matrix isolation in low-temperature chemistry. In theoretical chemistry, he proposed the three-centre four-electron bond which is now accepted as the best simple model of hypervalent...

 Award), the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 1991, the American Institute of Chemists Gold Medal in 1994 and the Monie A. Ferst Award in 1999.

In 1992, the ACS established the Arthur W. Adamson Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Surface Chemistry.

He was founding editor of Langmuir

Langmuir (journal)

Langmuir is a peer-reviewed scientific journal, published since 1985 by the American Chemical Society. It publishes research in the areas of surface chemistry and colloid chemistry...

, the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids, and he was chairman of the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry.

Books authored include:

• Concepts of Inorganic Photochemistry, Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited, John, ISBN 0471007951
• Physical Chemistry of Surfaces, Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, John, ISBN 0471007455
• A Textbook of Physical Chemistry, Cengage Learning, ISBN 0120442558
• Understanding Physical Chemistry, Stationery Office, The, ISBN 0805301283