Robert Marc Mazo is a theoretical physical chemist who specialized in statistical mechanics. Educated at Harvard and Yale, he was a research associate at the University of Chicago, and he taught at the California Institute of Technology prior to joining the University of Oregon faculty in 1962. He was designated a professor emeritus in 1996. He is a member of the American Association of University Professors and a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

Robert Marc Mazo
Professor emeritus
Born1930 (age 93–94)
Other namesBob Mazo
Occupation(s)Theoretical physical chemist and educator
AwardsAmerican Physical Society Fellow
Academic background
Education
  • A.B., Harvard University, 1952
  • M.S., Yale University, 1953
  • Ph.D., Yale University, 1955
ThesisTheoretical Studies On Low Temperature Phenomena (1955)
Doctoral advisorLars Onsager
John Gamble Kirkwood

Early life and education edit

Robert Marc Mazo, born in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York,[1] is the son of Nathan and Rose Marion (Mazo) Mazo.[2] While in high school in 1948, Mazo won the Seventh Science Talent Search with the project, "Reactions in Liquid Ammonia".[3]

Mazo completed a A.B. at Harvard University in 1952,[4] and an M.S. in Science at Yale University in 1953. With NSF fellowship funding,[5] he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree at Yale University in 1955, with his dissertation, Theoretical Studies On Low Temperature Phenomena,[6] advised by Lars Onsager and John Gamble Kirkwood.

Mazo and Joan Ruth Spector wed in 1954,[7] and their family includes a daughter and two sons.

Career edit

Before joining the faculty of the University of Oregon in 1962, Mazo was a postdoctoral fellow at Institute voor Theoretische Physica, University of Amsterdam[8] and a research associate at the University of Chicago (sponsored by the National Science Foundation).[9] He also held an assistant professorship at the California Institute of Technology.[10]

Mazo's research interests were "Exclusively theoretical",[11] and have included "Brownian motion processes, Markov processes, Probabilities, Statistical mechanics, and Transport theory."[12]

During Mazo's 33 year career at the University of Oregon, he served at various times as chair of the chemistry department, director of the Institute Theoretical Science, and as associate dean of the graduate school.[13] He was also a program director of the National Science Foundation.[14]

Selected publications edit

Books edit

  • Mazo, Robert M. (October 23, 2008). Brownian Motion: Fluctuations, Dynamics, and Applications. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-156508-3.
  • Mazo, Robert M. (1967). Statistical mechanical theories of transport processes. Pergamon Press. ASIN B0006BOPK4.
  • Girardeau, M.D; Mazo, R.M. (1973). "Variational methods in statistical mechanics". In Prigogine, Ilya; Rice, Stuart A (eds.). Advances in Chemical Physics, Volume 24. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 187–245. ISBN 978-0-470-14409-1.

Articles edit

Awards, honors edit

References edit

  1. ^ "New York, New York, U.S., Birth Index, 1910-1965". Retrieved May 29, 2022 – via Ancestry.
  2. ^ "Obituary for Nathan Mazo (Aged 87)". The Courier-News. April 30, 1990. p. 9. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  3. ^ Davis, Helen Miles (1951). Exhibit Techniques. Science Service. p. 96.
  4. ^ "Harvard University - Red Book Yearbook, Class of 1952". e-yearbook.com. Cambridge, Massachusetts. p. 261. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Blanpied, William A. (December 1, 2007), The National Science Foundation Class of 1952, National Science Foundation, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u237210, retrieved May 29, 2022
  6. ^ Mazo, Robert M. (1955). Theoretical Studies On Low Temperature Phenomena. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University.
  7. ^ "Marriage license applications". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 28, 1954. p. 24. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  8. ^ "Robert Marc Mazo". Who's Who Lifetime Achievement. July 16, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  9. ^ "The Third Annual Report of the National Science Foundation" (PDF). nsf.gov. June 30, 1953. p. 92. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  10. ^ Catalog, 1960-1961 (PDF). Pasadena, California: California Institute of Technology. 1960. p. 19.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Robert Mazo | Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry". chemistry.uoregon.edu. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "OCLC WorldCat Identities". worldcat.org. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  13. ^ "Robert Marc Mazo, PhD, Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who". 24-7 Press Release Newswire. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  14. ^ NSF Bulletin. The Foundation. 1975. p. 21.
  15. ^ "APS Fellow Archive". www.aps.org. Retrieved May 29, 2022.