Marcus, Rudolph Arthur (1923– )

Canadian chemist who advanced the theory of electron-transfer reactions (involving soluble molecules and/or ions) which drive many biological processes. By focusing on the solvent molecules in the reaction, Marcus realized that electron-transfer reaction rate coefficients could be determined that have an explanatory and predictive value. The theory has also been applied to proton-transfer reactions. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1992 for his theoretical discoveries relating to reduction and oxidation reactions.

Born in Montréal, Canada, Marcus attended the city's McGill University and studied chemistry. In 1946, he obtained his PhD and moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he taught at the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. From 1968 to 1978, he taught at the University of Illinois, Urbana, and became professor of chemistry at Caltech in California. In 1987, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Society and became an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1991.