Heeger, Alan J.

Heeger, Alan J.
born Jan. 22, 1936, Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.

U.S. chemist.

He received a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961. With Alan G. MacDiarmid and Shirakawa Hideki, Heeger determined that certain plastics can be chemically modified to conduct electricity almost as readily as metals. The finding led to the discovery of other conductive polymers and contributed to the emerging field of molecular electronics. Heeger, who taught at several institutions, founded the UNIAX Corp. in 1990. In 2000 he shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with MacDiarmid and Shirakawa.

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▪ American chemist
born January 22, 1936, Sioux City, Iowa, U.S.

      American chemist who, with Alan G. MacDiarmid (MacDiarmid, Alan G.) and Shirakawa Hideki, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000 for their discovery that certain plastics can be chemically modified to conduct electricity almost as readily as metals.

      After receiving a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961, Heeger taught and conducted research at the University of Pennsylvania until 1982, when he became professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara and director of its Institute for Polymers and Organic Solids. In 1990 Heeger founded the UNIAX Corporation to develop and manufacture light-emitting displays based on conducting polymers.

      Heeger, MacDiarmid, and Shirakawa carried out their prizewinning work while studying polyacetylene, a polymer that was known to exist as a black powder. In 1977 the three men, collaborating at the University of Pennsylvania, exposed polyacetylene to iodine vapour. Their strategy was to introduce impurities into the polymer much as in the doping process used to tailor the conductive properties of semiconductors. Doping with iodine increased polyacetylene's electrical conductivity by a factor of 10 million, which made it as conductive as some metals. The finding led scientists to discover other conductive polymers and contributed to the emerging field of molecular electronics.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • HEEGER, ALAN J. — HEEGER, ALAN J. (1936– ), U.S. physicist and material scientist and Nobel laureate. Heeger was born in Iowa. He was the first of his family to continue his education beyond high school and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a dual… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Heeger, Alan J. — (n. 22 ene. 1936, Sioux City, Iowa, EE.UU.). Químico estadounidense. En 1961 obtuvo un Ph.D. en la Universidad de California en Berkeley. Junto con Alan G. MacDiarmid y Shirakawa Hideki, Heeger determinó que ciertos plásticos pueden ser… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Heeger, Alan J. —  (1936–) American scientist, awarded Nobel Prize for Chemistry (2000) …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • Alan Heeger — Alan Jay Heeger (* 22. Januar 1936 in Sioux City, Iowa) ist ein US amerikanischer Chemiker und Physiker. Zusammen mit Alan G. MacDiarmid und Hideki Shirakawa erhielt er im Jahr 2000 den Chemie Nobelpreis für die Entdeckung und Entwicklung… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alan J. Heeger — Alan Heeger Alan Jay Heeger est un chimiste américain né le 22 janvier 1936 à Sioux City (Iowa). Il est professeur à l université de Californie à Santa Barbara. Il est co receveur avec Alan MacDiarmid et Hideki Shirakawa du prix Nobel de chimie… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alan Jay Heeger — Alan Heeger Alan Jay Heeger est un chimiste américain né le 22 janvier 1936 à Sioux City (Iowa). Il est professeur à l université de Californie à Santa Barbara. Il est co receveur avec Alan MacDiarmid et Hideki Shirakawa du prix Nobel de chimie… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Alan G. MacDiarmid — Alan Graham MacDiarmid (Alan G. MacDiarmid) (* 14. April 1927 in Masterton, Neuseeland; † 7. Februar 2007 in Philadelphia) war ein neuseeländischer Chemiker. Zusammen mit Alan J. Heeger und Hideki Shirakawa erhielt er im Jahr 2000 den… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Alan — alán (ant.) m. *Perro alano. * * * alán. m. desus. perro alano. * * * (as used in expressions) Alanbrooke (de Brookeborough), Alan Francis Brooke, 1 vizconde Arthur, Chester A(lan) Ayckbourn, Sir Alan Bennett, Alan Dershowitz, Alan (Morton) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Alan J. Heeger — Infobox Scientist name = Alan Jay Heeger image width = caption = birth date = birth date and age|1936|1|22 birth place = Sioux City, Iowa, USA residence = nationality = United States field = Physics, Chemistry work institution = University of… …   Wikipedia

  • Alan — /al euhn/, n. a male given name: from a Celtic word meaning harmony. * * * (as used in expressions) Arthur Chester Alan Ayckbourn Sir Alan Bennett Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Greenspan Alan Hazeltine Louis Alan Heeger Alan J. Hovhaness Alan Alan… …   Universalium

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