In Memoriam: Gus Somsen: 23 July 1932–12 June 2021

doi:10.1515/ci-2021-0411

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In Memoriam: Gus Somsen

23 July 1932–12 June 2021

Published/Copyright: October 15, 2021

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From the journal Chemistry International Volume 43 Issue 4

Gus Somsen passed away peacefully in Hoogeveen, Netherlands, while having struggled with Alzheimer’s for some time. Gus often said that he enjoyed his work for IUPAC, and his former colleagues on IUPAC Bureau and Executive Committee remember his optimistic outlook on life and his problem solving ability. He was energetic and creative in his thinking and made significant contributions to the IUPAC organization as his records show.

Prof. Somsen graduated in chemistry in 1956 after studying at Vrije Universiteit (VU) in Amsterdam. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry after working with Jan Coops. After military service as an officer in the field artillery, in 1958 he joined the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at VU as an instructor and was subsequently promoted to associate professor (1964), senior lecturer (1971), and then to professor of physical chemistry in 1980. Somsen served as head of the Department of Chemistry (1980–1983 and 1993–1997), vice rrector of the university (1983–1985), dean of the faculty of Natural Sciences (1985–1987), and member of the University Council (1988–1990) at VU. He became emeritus professor in 1997.

Gus Somsen (left) accepts the IUPAC service award from IUPAC President Bryan Henry in 2007 at the General Assembly opening held in the Aula Magna /Rektorat located on the Piazza Castello, in the center of the old city of Torino.

Prof. Somsen’s research interests were in experimental chemical thermodynamics, physical chemistry of solutions, and liquids and liquid structures. He authored about 120 publications on thermochemistry and physical chemistry of solutions. He held memberships in the Chemistry Committee of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Royal Dutch Chemical Society (KNCV) and the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), and served as a member of the editorial advisory boards on several journals.

In IUPAC Prof. Somsen served in numerous positions, starting as a Member (1977–1985) and Chair (1985–1989) of the Commission on Thermodynamics (I.2); Member (1990–1991), Secretary (1992–1993), Vice President (1994–1995), President (1996–1997), Past President (1998–1999), and Associate Member of the Physical (and Biophysical) Chemistry Division (I) Committee (2000–2001). Following his service in Division I, he was elected on the IUPAC Bureau (1998–2003); in 1998, he chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Project Evaluation Criteria, and continued as member on the then newly created Project Committee, which he ended up by chairing from 2004 to 2007.

Somsen won numerous awards and in 1995 he was designated an Officer in the Order of Orange Nassau from Her Majesty, the Queen of the Netherlands. He completed his IUPAC tenure in 2007 and was presented his service award by IUPAC President Bryan Henry during the opening ceremony of the General Assembly in Torino.

Wij zijn verdrietig maar dankbaar voor alles wat hij voor IUPAC en anaderen betekend heeft.

He is survived by his wife, Elly, four children, several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Online erschienen: 2021-10-15

Erschienen im Druck: 2021-10-01

©2021 IUPAC & De Gruyter. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. For more information, please visit: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ci-2021-0411