Lineberger honored by National Academy of Sciences

CU-Boulder Distinguished Professor W. Carl Linebergerrecently was honored by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his extraordinary scientific achievements.

Lineberger, the E. U. Condon Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at CU-Boulder and JILA (a joint institute of CU-Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology), was named the 2015 recipient of the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences.

Sponsored by the Merck Company Foundation, the award is presented with a medal and a $15,000 cash prize. It was established in 1978 to honor innovative research that contributes to a better understanding of the natural sciences to the benefit of humanity.

Lineberger developed negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy, which scientists can use to determine the electron affinity of the neutral version of an atom or molecule. Electron affinity — the change in energy that occurs when an electron is added to an atom or molecule — provides important information about atoms and molecules and how they interact in chemical reactions.

The periodic table of atomic electronic affinities now included in general chemistry textbooks is founded on Lineberger’s early work with negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy. Lineberger’s experimental methods are in widespread use in laboratories worldwide.