CHEMICAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION FRED W. MCLAFFERTY Transcript of Interviews Conducted by Michael A. Grayson at Cornell University Ithaca, New York on 22 and 23 January 2007 (With Subsequent Corrections and Additions) ACKNOWLEDGMENT This oral history is one in a series initiated by the Chemical Heritage Foundation on behalf of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. The series documents the personal perspectives of individuals related to the advancement of mass spectrometric instrumentation, and records the human dimensions of the growth of mass spectrometry in academic, industrial, and governmental laboratories during the twentieth century. This project is made possible through the generous support of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry This interview has been designated as Free Access. One may view, quote from, cite, or reproduce the oral history with the permission of CHF. Please note: Users citing this interview for purposes of publication are obliged under the terms of the Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program to credit CHF using the format below: Fred W. McLafferty, interview by Michael A. Grayson at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 22 and 23 January 2007 (Philadelphia: Chemical Heritage Foundation, Oral History Transcript # 0352). Chemical Heritage Foundation Oral History Program 315 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society. FRED W. MCLAFFERTY 1923 Born in Evanston, Illinois on 11 May Education 1943 B.S., University of Nebraska, Chemistry 1947 M.S., University of Nebraska 1950 Ph.D., Cornell University Professional Experience University of Iowa 1950 Post-Doctorate under Ralph Shriner Dow Chemical Company 1950-1956 In charge of mass spectrometry and gas chromatography 1956-1964 First Director of Eastern Research Laboratory, Basic Research Purdue University 1964-1968 Professor of Chemistry Cornell University 1968-present Peter J. W. Debye Professor of Chemistry (Emeritus) Honors 1972 American Chemical Society Award in Chemical Instrumentation 1975 Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh Award 1981 American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry 1983 Honorary DSc degree, University of Nebraska 1984 New York Section- American Chemical Society Nichols Gold Medal 1985 International Mass Spectrometry Society J. J. Thomson Gold Medal 1985 Cincinnati Section- American Chemical Society Oesper Award 1985 The Association of Analytical Chemistry Award 1986 East Tennessee Section- American Chemical Society S. C. Lind Award 1987 Ohio State University W. L. Evans Award 1987 Honorary DSc degree, The University of Liege 1989 University of Naples Gold Medal 1989 American Chemical Society Award in Mass Spectrometry 1992 Royal Society of Chemists Robert Boyle Gold Medal 1994 Pioneer in Analytical Instrumentation Award 1995 Honorary DSc degree, Purdue University 1996 American Institute of Chemistry Chemical Pioneer Award 1997 Utrecht University J. M. Bijvoet Medal 1999 Czech Academy of Sciences J. Heyrovsky Medal 2000 Italian Chemical Society G. Natta Gold Medal 2001 Swedish Chemical Society Torbern Bergman Medal 2003 American Society of Mass Spectrometry Award for Distinguished Contributions to Mass Spectrometry 2004 French Chemical Society Lavoisier Medal 2006 International Association of Protein Structure Analysis and Proteomics Pehr Edman Award ABSTRACT Fred W. McLafferty’s oral history begins with a discussion of his family’s history of education and his early life in Nebraska during the Great Depression. Sparked by a high school chemistry class, McLafferty decided to pursue the subject at the University of Nebraska. Because his undergraduate career coincided with World War II, McLafferty entered an accelerated degree program and enlisted in the war. After months of combat, he returned for graduate work at Nebraska, where he earned his Master’s degree and published papers as an analytical chemist. After moving to Cornell University to pursue his doctorate degree, his interest shifted to organic chemistry and his work on organofluorine compounds began. In 1950, after completing his degree, McLafferty entered industry at the Dow Chemical Company in Michigan, where he was introduced to mass spectrometry. There, McLafferty and Roland Gohlke helped develop instrumentation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. After several years, McLafferty was sent by Dow to Boston, Massachusetts to direct its new research lab. There he worked on patents and the McLafferty rearrangements in mass spectra correlations and utilized time-of-flight. In his oral history, McLafferty speaks often of the community and meetings of mass spectrometrists, and how he has collaborated and interacted with this community in the past fifty years. In 1964 he left Dow for an academic position at Purdue University, where he created a new research program. He continued his collaboration with Gohlke and also started collaborating with Klaus Biemann on topics such as collisional activation and gas chromatography. While at Purdue, McLafferty consulted for companies like Dow and Hitachi, and began securing grant money for research. After four years at Purdue University, he became Peter J. W. Debye Professor of Chemistry at Cornell University. McLafferty discusses his longtime position at Cornell University, which has allowed him both to publish landmark works and to develop techniques like electron capture dissociation and top down proteomics, and his most recent research work, which has included published papers on the use of ammonium tartrate and succinate in electrospray solution. McLafferty concludes his interview by discussing his impressions and remembrances of his long list of peers. INTERVIEWER Michael A. Grayson is a member of the Mass Spectrometry Research Resource at Washington University in St. Louis. He received his B.S. degree in physics from St. Louis University in 1963 and his M.S. in physics from the University of Missouri at Rolla in 1965. He is the author of over forty-five papers in the scientific literature. Before joining the Research Resource, he was a staff scientist at McDonnell Douglas Research Laboratory. While completing his undergraduate and graduate education, he worked at Monsanto Company in St. Louis, where he learned the art and science of mass spectrometry. Grayson is a member of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry [ASMS], and has served many different positions within that organization. He has served on the Board of Trustees of CHF and is currently a member of CHF's Heritage Council. He currently pursues his interest in the history of mass spectrometry by recording oral histories, assisting in the collection of papers, and researching the early history of the field. TABLE OF CONTENTS Childhood 1 Family’s history of college education. Life in rural Nebraska during Great Depression. High school chemistry. College Education 6 University of Nebraska. Agricultural school and land grants. ROTC and Officer Candidate School. Accelerated bachelor’s plan in chemistry. World War II combat and awards. Analytical chemistry. Graduate Education and Post-Doctoral Research 18 University of Nebraska, master’s degree. Publishing papers. Cornell University, doctorate work. Organofluorine compounds research. Organic chemistry. University of Iowa post-doctoral research with Ralph Shriner. The Dow Chemical Company 24 Introduction to mass spectrometry. Early instrumentation. The petroleum industry. Solving problems of the physical research lab. The Gordon Research Conference and gas chromatography. The Bersworth Chemical Company. Directing new Boston research lab. Patenting. Publishing. Mass Spectra Correlations. The Community of Mass Spectrometrists. 46 Sybil Rock. Uncertified Spectra Committee. The research community at Dow. John Beynon. Family. Principal Investigator 52 Purdue University. Creating new research program at Purdue University. Carl Djerassi. Klaus Biemann. Time-of-flight and direct probes. Roland Gohlke. Consulting for Dow and Hitachi. Reverse geometry. Cornell University. Babu Venkataraghaven. Perkin Elmer dispute. Collisional activation. Mass Spectrometry Research 73 Early American Society for Testing and Materials community cooperation. First electrospray with Fourier Transform Mass Spectrometry. Landmark papers. Competition with National Institute of Standards and Technology. Interpretation of Mass Spectra. Electron ionization. Electron capture dissociation. Top down proteomics. Recent Research 97 Cornell University. Ammonium tartrate and succinate. Carsten Reinhardt’s Shifting and Rearranging. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. Conferences and meetings. Impressions of various notable peers. Bibliography 121 Index 169 INTERVIEWEE: Fred W. McLafferty INTERVIEWER: Michael A. Grayson LOCATION: Ithaca, New York DATE: 22 January 2007 GRAYSON: So, I’m going to start off saying that this is Mike Grayson. I’m in Ithaca. On January 22, year 2007, and I’m interviewing Fred McLafferty, who is a mass spectroscopist of note. What we’re going