Former Illinois Chemistry faculty member Fred Wall died on March 31, 2010, in San Diego; he was 97. He was preceded in death by his wife Clara, who died in November of 2009, and is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Wall Ralston. Fred had a distinguished career as a research chemist, teacher, and university administrator.

Frederick Theodore Wall was born December 14, 1912; during high school, he developed an interest in chemistry and mathematics and planned to become a chemical engineer. He attended the University of Minnesota, studying both chemistry and chemical engineering. One of his professors there, George Glockler, influenced both his decision to focus on physical chemistry and to pursue graduate work. After graduating with a B.S. in chemistry in 1933, Wall was awarded an assistantship at Caltech where he was greatly influenced by Linus Pauling, but he spent only a year there due to financial difficulties exacerbated by the Depression. Wall moved back to the University of Minnesota, and continued his graduate work under Glockler. He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1937, and in that year he accepted a teaching position at the University of Illinois. His early work involved infrared spectroscopic studies of hydrogen bonding. Gradually he became interested in polymers, and during World War II he participated in the US Synthetic Rubber Program, led locally by Speed Marvel. Wall was widely respected for his use of digital computers and Monte Carlo simulations to understand the statistical thermodynamics of polymers. In 1945 he received the Award in Pure Chemistry from the American Chemical Society, and in 1959 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He won numerous other awards for his theoretical research, including election as a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 1965 until 1969 he was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Physical Chemistry. He was for many years a consultant for DuPont.

In 1955, Wall became Dean of the Graduate College at Illinois, and - after 26 years on the Illinois faculty - in 1963 he moved to the University of California at Santa Barbara where he became Chairman of the Chemistry Department and Vice Chancellor for Research. From 1966 until 1969, he was Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of California at San Diego. In 1969, he became Executive Director of the American Chemical Society (ACS), but soon rejoined academia, becoming professor of chemistry at Rice University. At Rice, Wall resumed his theoretical polymer research, particularly polymer configurations on lattices. Seven years later, he moved back to California, taking a lecturing position at San Diego State University, and in 1981 becoming an adjunct professor at the University of California at San Diego.

Steve Zimmerman has related the story that, a few years ago, our former colleague Peter Wolynes found himself sitting next to Fred at a meeting at UCSD. Fred told Peter that he was a theoretical chemist from the University of Illinois at which point Peter laughed and said "so am I!"

by: Department Head Gregory S. Girolami