Old news, but worth revisiting. Interestingly, I can find no FSU website that describes the "Gregory R. Choppin Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry at Florida State" and the details surrounding it. Unfortunate.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/10/26/retired-fsu-professor-gregory-r-choppin-dies/74647968/
"Gregory Robert Choppin grew up in New Orleans and graduated from Loyola University. One of his lifelong friends was Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
The Chemistry Wing of the Science Building at Loyola University is named the “G.R. Choppin Wing,” and at FSU, the Gregory Robert Choppin Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry was created in his honor. Both honors were endowed by Benson."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Robert_Choppin
Gregory R. Choppin (November 9, 1927, Texas, United States[1] – October 21, 2015, Tallahassee, Florida)[2] was an American nuclear chemist and co-discoverer of the element Mendelevium, atomic number 101[3] Others in the discovery group were Albert Ghiorso, Bernard G. Harvey, Stanley G. Thompson, and Glenn T. Seaborg.[4] The element was named in honor of Dmitri Mendeleev.[5]
Choppin received a Bachelor of Science degree at Loyola University New Orleans and earned his doctorate at the University of Texas in 1953.[1] He then worked as a Postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley from 1953-1956.
While at Berkeley he co-discovered mendelevium. Video documentation of the discovery was produced by the television station KQED and can be viewed on YouTube with a new narration by Claude Lyneis.[6][7]
He taught at Florida State University from 1956 until 2001. At Florida State University, he served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and was named Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, "...the highest honor the Florida State faculty bestows upon one of its own."[8]
The chemistry wing of the science building at Loyola University is named for Choppin,[9] and the Gregory R. Choppin Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry is an endowed chair at Florida State University.[8]
Choppin is sometimes credited with co-discovering the elements einsteinium and fermium.[8][10]
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2015/10/26/retired-fsu-professor-gregory-r-choppin-dies/74647968/
Gregory Robert Choppin, who developed an international reputation for his scholarly research in chemistry, also enjoyed a following in Tallahassee among his Florida State University students and colleagues for the joy he got from a teaching career that spanned almost half a century.
Choppin’s reputation as a scholar was established before he arrived at FSU in 1956. Having earned his doctorate in chemistry from the University of Texas, Choppin completed post-doctoral studies and became a research scientist at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory at the University of California-Berkeley. It was there, working under the supervision of Glenn Seaborg, he became a co-discoverer of chemical element 101, or Mendelevium.
Choppin, 87, died last week in Tallahassee. He is survived his wife, Ann Warner Choppin, three daughters, a son and five grandchildren.
Choppin’s career took him all over the world, artist Denise Choppin said of her father. And, while he enjoyed international travel, he was equally happy at his lakeside home in Tallahassee and at the family’s second residence on St. George Island.
“He used to go out and swim way down the beach or out in the Gulf. He was fearless in doing that. He liked sailing there, too,” Denise Choppin said.
Her father’s interests were vast, from the sciences and research, to philosophy, the arts, sailing, world travel, model-boat building and archaeology, Choppin said. He was a voracious reader.
“He lived a good, happy life,” she said.
She recalled her father’s interest in bonsai, influenced by his many trips to Japan. He wasn’t always successful at growing the plants, but loved what they represented.
“It turns out you can give them too much attention,” Choppin said her parents learned.
Gregory Robert Choppin grew up in New Orleans and graduated from Loyola University. One of his lifelong friends was Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
The Chemistry Wing of the Science Building at Loyola University is named the “G.R. Choppin Wing,” and at FSU, the Gregory Robert Choppin Chair in Chemistry and Biochemistry was created in his honor. Both honors were endowed by Benson.
At FSU, Choppin's research focused on rare earth chemistry. He published more than a dozen books, including textbooks, and more than 500 research papers. FSU recognized him in 1967 with distinction as a R.O. Lawton Distinguished Professor. Choppin also received the Manufacturing Chemists Association National College Chemistry Teacher Award in 1979. He retired in 2001.
Ronald Clark was recruited following his post-doctorate fellowship at Iowa State by Choppin to teach at FSU in 1962. The two were close friends and colleagues.
“He was involved in all aspects of chemistry from teaching to the research,” said Clark, who retired in 2004. “One of the things that made him special was his ability to teach in the classroom. He treated students with respect and the students would have respect for him. He could relate to students with his sense of humor, but he could be quite professional in his presentation of chemistry.”
Clark said Choppin’s national and international academic travels resulted in visitors from around the world reciprocating by visiting Choppin’s laboratory on campus.
“He had a very successful laboratory,” Clark said. “I always wished I could be as successful as he was.”
Clark said for many years Choppin served as chairman of the chemistry department, where he was admired and respected.
“Whenever he had a problem he would ask you to do something in such a way (that) you would try to bust your gut trying to make the job right for him.”
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/tallahassee/obituary.aspx?pid=176203307
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