John Charles POLANYI

Background

POLANYI, John was born on January 23, 1929 in Berlin, Germany. Son of Michael Polanyi and Magda Polanyi (nee Kemeny).

Education

Manchester Grammar School and Manchester University, England.

Career

Fellow, National Research Council of Canada 54. Research Association, Princeton University, United States of America 1954-1956. Lecturer, University of Toronto, Canada 1956-1957, Assistant Professor 1957-1960, Association Professor 1960-1962, Professor, of Chemistry 1962, University Professor, of Chemistry and Physics since 1974.

Many Visiting Lectureships.

Achievements

• His work with chemical reactions led to the construction of a "chemical laser". Outside his scientific pursuits, Polanyi is active in public policy discussion, especially concerning science and nuclear weapons. As of 2010, he has published over 250 scientific papers. His writing is not limited to his scientific interests, as he has published over 100 articles on policy, the impact of science on society and armament control. He produced a film entitled Concepts in Reaction Dynamics, and he co-edited a book called The Dangers of Nuclear War.
  
  He received numerous honors in addition to the Nobel Prize, including Canada's highest civilian honor, Companion of the Order of Canada (1979). He was co-winner of the Wolf Prize in 1982, received the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize (1988), the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of London (1989), the Bakerian Prize (1994).
  
  Polanyi was pictured on a Canada Post first class postage stamp on 3 October 2011, issued to salute the International Year of Chemistry. In 1992, Polanyi was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council of Canada.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Dangers of Nuclear War: A Pugwash Symposium

    (This collection of studies is one of the most lucid and s...)

Membership

Numerous professor, asscns. American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Connections

Married Anne Ferrar Davidson in 1958.

Father:

Michael Polanyi

Mother:

Magda Polanyi (nee Kemeny)

Spouse:

Anne Ferrar Davidson