Fred C. Anson passed away on May 22, 2024 at the age of 91. Fred was the Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, at Caltech, where he served on the faculty for 43 years.
1933 – 2024
Anson received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Caltech in 1954. He went on to earn a doctoral degree in chemistry from Harvard in 1957, overlapping in Prof. J. J. Lingane’s research group with another person destined to have a major impact on electrochemistry, Al Bard. Fred was hired as an instructor at Caltech that same year by Linus Pauling. He was appointed an assistant professor in 1958 and rose rapidly through the academic ranks, becoming an associate professor in 1962 and a full professor in 1968.
Fred’s early research focused on understanding the electrochemical behavior of reactants attached at electrode surfaces. In the mid 1960’s he developed a method of using chronocoulometry to study electrode-attached reactants, presenting data in a format that would later become known as an Anson plot. Through the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s he studied a wide variety of surface-attached systems and was a pioneer in the use of thin polymer films for confining reactants at electrode surfaces. He also contributed significantly to the understanding of electrocatalytic oxygen reduction. Fred’s insightful work in these areas provided the seminal underpinnings of much of the research that occupied the attention of the electrochemistry community throughout and after his career.
Among Fred’s many honors, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences (1988) and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2003). Fred was the first recipient of the David Grahame Award of the Electrochemical Society. He also received the C. N. Reilley Award in electroanalytical chemistry (1986), the American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry (1989), and an Alexander von Humboldt Award (1984).
Fred was among the small group of people who started the Western Electrochemical and Technical Society, which had informal meetings to discuss electrochemistry on the beach in San Clemente. This group eventually morphed into the Gordon Research Conference on Electrochemistry and was responsible for its west coast location. Because of the proximity of Caltech to the west coast Gordon Research Conference site in Santa Barbara (and then later, Ventura), Fred’s research group meetings in early January often had as many GRC-bound visitors as students and postdocs. This made for some spirited and memorable discussions!
Fred was known as a wonderful scientific mentor who employed just the right mix of guiding people when they needed it and leaving them to work on their own when they didn’t. Throughout his career, Fred’s research group had a distinctly international flavor. Many people who spent time in his group went on to distinguished careers across the world. For all of us, countries represented during our respective stays in the group included Japan, Korea, Germany, Italy, France, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Hong Kong, New Zealand, China and others. The collaborative atmosphere Fred created in the research group led to many lasting friendships across many borders. Fred also had several long lasting professional collaborations, including one that fostered a strong friendship between him and Jean-Michel Saveant, another of the great electrochemists of the era. Fred was known for his insightful and tenacious approach to science, his keen wit, and his unwavering support for his students and postdocs. He managed his group with a deft touch and an easy smile. He was, in the words of one who knew him well, a “prince of a fellow”. And he certainly leaves a legacy worth remembering.
Prof. Dan Buttry
Arizona State University, USA
Prof. Hasuck Kim
Professor Emeritus
Seoul National University, Korea
Prof. Dr. Alexander Kuhn
Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, Bordeaux, France
Prof. Paolo UGO
Honorary Senior Researcher
University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Italy