Indiana Section of the Society for Applied SpectroscopyIndiana Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy
1999-2000 Seminar Biographical Sketches
David M. Hercules graduated from Juniata College with a B.S. in Chemistry on 1954 and received his Ph.D. from M.I.T. in Analytical Chemistry in 1957. His thesis research was performed under L.B. Rogers. From 1957 to 1960 he was a member of the faculty of Lehigh University and from 1960 to 1963 on the faculty of Juniata College. In 1963 he became Assistant Professor of Chemistry at M.I.T., Associate Professor in 1968. In 1969 e became Associate Professor in Chemistry at the University of Georgia, Professor in 1976 and served as Department Chairman from 1980-1989 and as Miles Professor of Chemistry(1989-94). Currently he is Chairman and Centennial Professor of Chemistry at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Hercules’ research interests concern the analytical chemistry of surfaces and solid-state mass spectrometry. This involves such areas as catalysts, polymers, quantitative methodology, surface oxidation and modification, and trace analysis. The major instrumental techniques which he uses are x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ESCA), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and laser mass spectroscopy. He is heavily involved in laser mass spectrometry of nonvolatile, organic solids and development of the scanning laser microprobe.
He served as a member of the Governing Board of the Council for Chemical Research, the joint Board-Council Committee on Science of the A.C.S., and as a member of the Chemistry Advisory Committee for the National Science Foundation. He is a member of the organization committee for the International Conference on the Analytical Chemistry of Pollutants and was for many years a member of the Pittsburgh Conference Committee. He was awarded the Lester Strock Medal in 1981 by the SAS and the A.C.S. Award in Analytical Chemistry (Fisher Award) in 1986. In 1987 he was also awarded the Benedetti-Pichler Award by the American Microchemical Society, the Eastern Analytical Symposium Award in 1989 and received the A.C.S. award in Surface Chemistry (Adamson Award) at the Denver ACS meeting in April 1993. He received the Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award at the Pittsburgh Conference in 1996. He will receive the 1997 award of the Pittsburgh Section of the ACS. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and received an Alexander von Humboldt prize.
Contact Indiana Section of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy