John Pople
John Pople
Sir John Anthony Pople, KBE FRS was a theoretical chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Walter Kohn in 1998 for his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth31 October 1925
developed emerging english-scientist interest magnetic molecular nuclear powerful studying technique
I developed an interest in nuclear magnetic resonance, which was then emerging as a powerful technique for studying molecular structure.
benefit english-scientist love
Like many other Laureates, I have benefit immeasurably from the love and support of my wife and children.
english-scientist textbook
I found a discarded textbook on calculus in a wastebasket and read it from cover to cover.
chemistry close community depended english-scientist field hugely quantum work
My contribution to quantum chemistry has depended hugely on work by others. The international community in our field is a close one.
bristol cambridge employment english-scientist industrial leave
I had to leave Cambridge and take up industrial employment for a period. This was with the Bristol Aeroplane Company. There was little to do there.
development molecular-biology biology
I was a close observer of the developments in molecular biology.
numbers years lists
Looking through the list of earlier Nobel laureates, I note a large number with whom I became acquainted and with whom I interacted during those years as they passed through Cambridge.
summer children pittsburgh
Our children were mostly brought up and educated in the Churchill suburb east of Pittsburgh. Each summer, we took them back to England for an extended period.
branches modern scientist
I had changed from being a mathematician to a practicing scientist. I was increasingly embarassed that I could no longer follow some of the more modern branches of pure mathematics.
years fundamentals pittsburgh
On my return to Pittsburgh, I resolved to go back to the fundamental problems of electronic structure that I had contemplated abstractly many years earlier.
awards students nobel
I am delighted to have had students, friends and colleagues in so many nations and to have learned so much of what I know from them. This Nobel Award honours them all.
book class age
At the age of 12, I developed an intense interest in mathematics. On exposure to algebra, I was fascinated by simultaneous equations and read ahead of the class to the end of the book.
war men age
In the war, most young men were inducted into the armed forces at the age of 17. A group of students was permitted to attend university before taking part in wartime research projects.
college awards examination
I abandoned chemistry to concentrate on mathematics and physics. In 1942, I travelled to Cambridge to take the scholarship examination at Trinity College, received an award and entered the university in October 1943.