Robert F. Landel
{{Short description|American physical chemist (1925–2024)}}
Robert F. Landel (October 10, 1925 – September 10, 2024) was an American physical chemist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory noted for his contribution to development of the Williams–Landel–Ferry equation,{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=M. L. |last2=Landel |first2=R. F. |last3=Ferry |first3=J. D. |title=The temperature dependence of relaxation mechanisms in amorphous polymers and other glass-forming liquids |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |date=1955 |volume=77 |issue=14 |pages=3701–3707 |doi=10.1021/ja01619a008|bibcode=1955JAChS..77.3701W |s2cid=26195661 }}{{cite journal|last1=Landel|first1=Robert F.|title=A Two-Part Tale: The WLF Equation and Beyond Linear Viscoelasticity|journal=Rubber Chemistry and Technology|date=2006|volume=79|issue=3|pages=381–401|doi=10.5254/1.3547943}} and for a particular form of hyperelastic energy function, the Valanis-Landel form.{{cite journal |last1=Valanis |first1=K. C. |last2=Landel |first2=R. F. |title=The strain-energy function of a hyperelastic material in terms of the extension ratios |journal=Journal of Applied Physics |date=1967 |volume=38 |issue=7 |pages=2997–3002 |doi=10.1063/1.1710039|bibcode=1967JAP....38.2997V }}
Early life and education
Landel was born in Pendleton, New York on October 10, 1925.{{cite web |last1=Mohindra |first1=Monica |title=Veteran's History Project |url=https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/story/loc.natlib.afc2001001.13674/ |website=memory.loc.gov |publisher=US Government |access-date=29 October 2022}} He was a combat infantryman in World War II, serving in eastern France and southern Germany (1943–1946).
Landel earned an MA in 1951 and a BA in 1950, from the University of Buffalo.{{cite web|title=UB Today, classnotes|url=http://www.buffalo.edu/UBT/25-2/classnotes/50s.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131014174349/http://www.buffalo.edu/UBT/25-2/classnotes/50s.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 October 2013|website=University of Buffalo|accessdate=14 Oct 2013}} He completed postdoctoral research under Prof. John D. Ferry at University of Wisconsin.
Career
Landel worked for Jet Propulsion Lab on solid rocket propellants as a physical chemist. He holds six patents.
Death
Landel died at his home in Santa Cruz, California, on September 10, 2024, at the age of 98.{{cite web |title=Robert F. Landel |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/robert-landel-obituary?id=56521708 |website=Legacy |access-date=12 January 2025}}
Honors and awards
Robert F. Landel was elected vice president of the Society of Rheology in 1984.{{cite journal|title=Society of Rheologists elects Landel as vice president|journal=Physics Today|date=January 1984|volume=37|issue=1|page=77|doi=10.1063/1.2916053|bibcode=1984PhT....37a..77. }}
In 2006, he won the Charles Goodyear Medal, bestowed by the American Chemical Society, Rubber Division to individuals who "have been the principal inventor(s), innovator(s), or developer(s) of a significant change or contribution to the rubber industry".{{cite web|title=Landel to receive Charles Goodyear Medal|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Landel+to+receive+Charles+Goodyear+Medal.-a0145827994|publisher=Lippincott & Peto, Inc.|accessdate=28 Sep 2014}}
References
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Category:21st-century American chemists
Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society
Category:American polymer scientists and engineers
Category:University at Buffalo alumni
Category:Presidents of the Society of Rheology
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