Charles Rees facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Rees
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Prof Charles W. Rees
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Charles Wayne Rees
15 October 1927 Egypt
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| Died | 21 September 2006 (aged 78) |
| Citizenship | British |
| Awards | CBE
FRS (1974) FRSC |
Charles Wayne Rees (born October 15, 1927 – died September 21, 2006) was a very important British organic chemist. He was known for his amazing work in chemistry. He received special honors like the CBE and was a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).
Contents
Early Life and School
Charles Rees was born in Egypt. He went to school in England at Farnham Grammar School. After school, he worked for three years. He was a laboratory helper at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. This is a place where they test airplanes.
Later, he went to University College at Southampton. He finished his studies there in 1950. He then earned his PhD degree. He studied with Professor A. Albert.
A Career in Chemistry
In 1955, Charles Rees became an Assistant Lecturer. This was at Birkbeck College, London. After two years, he moved to King's College London. He worked there for eight years. He was a Lecturer and then a Reader.
He worked with Professor Donald Holroyde Hey. They studied heterocyclic chemistry. This is a special type of chemistry. In 1965, he became a Professor. This was at the University of Leicester.
Four years later, he moved to the University of Liverpool. He became a Professor of Organic Chemistry there. In 1978, he got a very important job. He became the Hofmann Professor of Organic Chemistry. This was at Imperial College London. He stayed there until he retired in 1993.
What He Studied
Professor Rees loved to explore many areas of chemistry. He was very interested in heterocyclic chemistry. This involves making new ring-shaped molecules. He focused on aromatic and antiaromatic rings. These are special types of chemical structures.
He also studied how reactive intermediates work. These are short-lived molecules. They are important in chemical reactions. Later in his career, he worked on molecules. These molecules had lots of nitrogen and sulphur atoms. He wrote about 480 scientific papers. These papers shared his discoveries.
Leading the Royal Society of Chemistry
Charles Rees was the President of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He held this important role for two years. This was from July 1992. He also served on many committees. He was the Chair of the Publication and Information Board. He also led the Perkin Division of the RSC. He was President of the Chemistry Association for the Advancement of Science.
Important Discoveries
Among his many contributions, two papers stand out. They describe how he created benzyne. He also created [1,8]-dehydronaphthalene. He used a special chemical process for this. These papers are considered classic works in chemistry.
Charles Rees passed away on September 21, 2006.
Awards and Special Honors
Charles Rees received many awards for his work. In 1974, he was the Royal Society of Chemistry's Tilden Lecturer. In 1984, he was the Pedler Lecturer. He received the first RSC Award in Heterocyclic Chemistry in 1980. He also got the International award in Heterocyclic Chemistry in 1995.
He was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1974. This is a very high honor for scientists. In 1994, he received an Honorary D.Sc. from the University of Leicester. He was also awarded a CBE in 1995. This is a special honor from the British government.
