Aspartame in Your Stomach

Chemist of the Week: Karl O. Christe

Last week, our chemistry department was fortunate to receive a visit from Professor Karl Christe, who presented the Neil Bartlett Memorial Lecture. The title of his presentation was "Never Say No to a Challenge, A Lifelong Pursuit of Impossible Chemistry." It was clear by the end of his lecture why he had chosen that title. Almost every area of chemistry he has pursued would likely seem impossible to many chemists who lack the determination, work ethic and enthusiasm that has driven Professor Christe's productive research career.

Professor Christe's career began at the Technical University of Stuttgart in Germany, where he worked as a teaching assistant from 1958-1960. He completed his PhD thesis work in Frankfurt, Germany in 1961. After recognizing that he didn't fit in with the German system, he moved to the United States in search of a new job. To save money while he was looking for a job, he would sleep in the train stations as he travelled. It wasn't long before he was being offered jobs left and right by chemical companies who recognized his potential. He accepted a job in Richmond, CA as a Senior Research Chemist at Stauffer Chemical Co., where he developed some important fluorine chemistry (among other things) from 1962-1967.

From 1967-1994, Professor Christe managed the Exploratory Chemistry sector at Rocketdyne, a company in Canago Park, CA that conducted research for the development of rocket engines that use liquid propellants. Some of his major contributions to this area of chemistry include the first chemical synthesis of elemental fluorine, as well as a number of solid propellant fluorine gas generators, which are safer and easier to store than previous propellants.

After a disastrous explostion at Rocketdyne in 1994, Professor Christe left the company. Though it would typically be difficult to find a new job at the ate of 58, he had no trouble landing dual positions as a professor at the University of Southern California and as a Senior Staff Advisor at an Air Force Research Laboratory in Edwards AFB, California.

His research lab has remained small at USC. This may be due to the fact that he has been actively involved in much of his published work. It is easy to see why so many companies would have wanted to hire him when you look at his publication record and his pioneering work in such diverse areas of chemistry. Without innovative chemists like Karl Christe, chemistry would not be where it is today and we certainly wouldn't know so much about chalcogen polyazides! Let's face it--most chemists are just too scared to do chemistry that requires a leather suit, ear plugs and body shields.