Biographical Information:
Name: Samuel C. Wait, Jr.
Position: Associate Dean, School of Science and Professor of Chemistry
Spouse: Carol D. Wait (nee Petrie), Retired Serials Librarian, Capital District Library Council; children are Robert James and Alison Ruth,
Born: Albany, New York – January 26, 1932
Moved to Schenectady: July 1938
Education: Kindergarten, 1st Grade – Albany
2nd – 6th Grade: Elmer Avenue School – Schenectady
7th – 9th Grade: Central Park Junior High School
10th – 12th Grade: Nott Terrace High School – Schenectady
B.S. in Chemistry: 1949 – 1953: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
M.S. in Chemistry: 1954 – January 1955: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Ph.D. in Chemistry: 1955 – August 1956: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellowship: University College, London England 1956-57
Positions: Assistant Lecturer, University College, London England 1957 – 1958
Teaching Postdoctoral Fellow: University of Minnesota 1958 – 1959
Visiting Assistant Professor: Carnegie Institute of Technology 1959 – 1960
Research Scientist: National Bureau of Standards: 1960 – 1961
Member of Faculty, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1961-present
Assistant Professor of Chemistry 1961-1964
Associate Profesor of Chemistry 1964-1971
Professor of Chemistry 1971-present
Assistant Dean of Science 1972-1974
Associate Dean of Science 1974-present
Acting Dean of Science 1978-1980, 1988 -99, 2005, 2006
Honors New York Regents Scholarship 1949-1953
and William Pitt Mason Prize for B.S. Thesis 1953
Awards: Research Corporation Fellowship 1954-1955
Eastman Kodak Fellowship 1955-1956
Fulbright Scholar 1956-1957
Awarded grants to attend the National Science Foundation sponsored Winter Institute in Quantum Chemistry, Solid State Physics and Quantum Biology at theUniversity of Florida, December 5-31, 1966 and January 2-20, 1968
Rensselaer Alumni Association:
Outstanding Teadhing Award, Alumni Admissions Award
Alumni Key, Albert Fox Demers Medal, Distinguished Service Award
Society American Chemical Society
Memberships Optical Society of America
Coblentz Society
Phi Lamba Upsilon
Society of the Sigma Xi
Rensselaer Premedical Society and Alpha Epsilon Delta (honorary member)
ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIVITIES
Prior to Appointment as Assistant Dean of Science:
Member of Graduate Committee in Chemistry from 1964-1972 and Chairman 1970-1972:
Responsible for screening candidates for admission, recommending financial aid,and making initial placement.
Safety Committee Chairman, Department of Chemistry from 1961-1968:
Responsible for establishing procedures for safety in laboratories.
Assistant and Associate Dean of Science:
Member of Capital Programs Committee, 1972-1984:
Makes recommendations for physical facilities construction, renovation, and repair.
Member of President's Computer Study Task Force and Trustee's Overview Committee on Computing, 1976-1978:
Responsible for selection of new computer system for Rensselaer and physical facility to house the system. Recommendation was IBM 3033. Member of President's Ad Hoc Committee on Computer Selection responsible for installation of IBM 360/67 in 1974.
Member of Financial Management Task Force and Task Force on Administrative use of the Computer, 1976-1980, 1987:
Responsible for reviewing administrative applications in the Student Records area and the Financial Management area and recommending an upgraded database management system.
Member of Energy Review Board, 1978-1985:
Responsible for monitoring energy use, recommending procedures for energy conservation.
Prime Responsibility for Budget in the School of Science:
Responsible for working with the Dean to establish salaries and operating budgets for faculty, staff and graduate assistants, preparing budgets, monitoring expenditures and personal payments.
Prime Responsibility for physical facilities in the School of Science:
space allocations, maintenance and modifications.
Responsible for statistical analysis of performance in the School of Science:
faculty loading, funding, courses taught, etc.
Member of the Science Development Committee:
planning goals for the School of Science
Chairman of the Academic Judicial Committee, School of Science
Member of the Task Force on Admission and Retention, 1988
Member of the Institute Wide Curriculum Committee
Member of the Humanities and Social Sciences Graduate Programs Review Committee
RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
The electronic spectra of aromatic and heterocyclic molecules are being obtained to determine the bonding and structure of molecules in singlet excited states. Direct measurements of these properties have not been possible because of the short lifetime of such a state and, in gereral, the low population of the state. In this laboratory assignments of vibronic transitions are made from the observed ultraviolet and visible spectra of molecules in the vapor phase. Band contours of the individual vibronic bands are observed and attempts made to correlate the shape of a band with differences in geometry between the ground and excited state. Additional studies of the vibrational frequencies of the molecule in the excited electronic state are being made. It is hoped that a technique can be developed for the iterative simultaneous refinement of band contour and vibrational frequencies to yield an excited state geometry. Studies to date have centered on the azanaphthalenes, fluorene, diphenylene oxide, carbazole and phenazine.
In addition to the electronic spectra, it is necessary to have a thorough understanding of the vibrational frequencies in the ground state. Accordingly, infrared and Raman spectra are being obtained. Normal coordinate analyses are being done using the concept of transfer of force constants and iterative refinement of force constants to give agreement between observed and calculated fundamental vibrational frequencies.
Funding for the above program has been through grants from Rensselaer, the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute) and the U.S. Army Research Office-Durham. Equipment and computer time have been obtained using funds from the National Science Foundation.
Supervised 17 B.S., 8 M.S. and 12 Ph.D. Students plus served on committees for many others.
Published 31 articles in refereed journals.
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Courses Taught (1970-present):
Physical Chemistry - Chemistry Majors and Biologists Lecturer to 150 students, 1975-1978, 1986-1987. Discussion periods taught in this and other years prior.
Physical Chemistry - Engineers, 1980-1985.
Physical Chemistry Laboratory, 1961-1972. Supervisor of the laboratory including development of experiments, regular instruction and initiation and supervision of independent project approach for the students.
Molecular Orbital Theory
Molecular Vibrations
Group Theory Applied to Chemistry
General Chemistry Discussion Sections
Physics IV Discussion Section
Thermodynamics
Graduate Physical Chemistry Introduction
Special Activities:
Directed the Research Participation for High School Teachers Program from 1962-1967. This program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, brought 10-15 high school teachers to Rensselaer each summer. The teachers undertook research in one of the departments of the School of Science. The program was designed to give teachers greater insight into some modern research techniques to help them to stimulate secondary students into careers in science.
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
Special Activities, continued:
Taught and served as Assistant Director of the Master of Science in Natural Sciences Program during the period 1962-1974. This program was a four summer sequential summer institute sponsored by the National Science Foundation designed to provide high school teachers with a broader background from which to teach sciences. Each summer about 100 teachers were in the program.
Directed a Cooperative College Science Improvement Program in 1972 and 1973. Twenty teachers of chemistry from two-year colleages in New York State were brought to Rensselaer for a course and educational materials development program.
Served as Chairman of the Committee which was charged with selecting audio-visual equipment for the new Communications Center. Purchases included television cameras, receivers, and related hardware as well as lighting packages, sound systems, etc.
Assisted in Benchmarking Computer systems for the Computers in Calculus program.
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Computer Laboratory Planning Committee, 1966-1975
Faculty Council, 1967-1969
Faculty Committee Chairman, 1968-1969
Faculty Committee on Honors, 1968-1971
Chairman, 1970-1971
Research Grants Committee, 1969-1971
Safety Committee, 1967-1970
Committee on R.O.T.C., Chairman, 1970-1971
Faculty Retirement Recognition Committee, 1969-1972
Chairman, 1971-1972
President's Faculty Advisory Council, 1969-1971
Ad Hoc Committee on Computer Selection, 1973-1974
Communications Center Facilities Committee, Chairman, 1973-1976
Capital Programs Committee, 1972-1984
Biomedical Grants Committee, 1973-1974
Premedical Advising Committee, 1974-present
Computer Allocations Committee, 1976-1985
Task Force on Administrative Use of Computer, 1976-1984
Member of President's Computer Study Task Force, 1976-1978
Member of time-sharing Evaluation Subcommittee
Member of Trustee's Overview Committee on Computing, 1983
Member of Financial Management Task Force
Member of Science Development Committee
Member of President's Standing Committee on the Handicapped, 1976-1984
Member of Biomedical Policy and Promotions Committee, 1972-present
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Volunteer Fireman: Niskayuna District Two: 1966 – present
Board of Fire Commissioners: Niskayuna District Two: 1987-1983
Member of the Schenectady County Hazardous Materials Team: 1991 - 2001
Mathematics, Science and Technology Advisory Committee of Schenectady County Community College 1976 – Present
Trustee: Dudley Observatory 1972 – present, President 1990 – 1001
Judge: Eastern Regional Science Fair: 1995 – present
PERSONAL
People who influenced my life:
Parents – who from the earliest days planned for me to go to college.
- who got me a Gilbert Chemistry set when I was 12
- who allowed me to have a chemistry laboratory in the basement, allowed me to buy chemicals and equipment both mail order and from Walker’s pharmacy in Schenectady
- who took family fishing vacations at Cranberry Lake and Indian Lake in the Adirondacks
Teachers: - who shaped my career
- Olive Robinson – Junior High Science Teacher – eighth and ninth grades – who allowed us to stay after school to unpack equipment. My best friend, also a chemist, stayed in touch with her until her death in 1980 and we visited her in the hospital in her final years.
- Harold Rowe – High School Chemistry Teacher – who allowed us to do special experiments since my friend and I had done most of the elementary experiments and who encouraged us to participate in a regional science fair
- Henry Bird – High School Physics Taacher and Homeroom Teacher for the Nott Terrace Guards – an organization of which I became Captain – who served as hall monitors and assistants at athletic events checking to make sure people did not sneak in.
- George Janz – Professor at Rensselaer who introduced me to physical chemistry, allowed me to do research during the summer, supervised my B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. theses and who made contact so that I could go to University College London, England and who encouraged me to return to Rensselaer as a member of the faculty.
- David Craig – Professor in London who supervised my research there and introduced me to digital computing in 1956, I programmed in machine language and in assembly language and could operate the IBM 650 computer at the IBM site in London.
Carol - My wife – We were married in London when I decided to stay for a second year. David Craig gave her away since neither of our parents were present.
- Who followed me around from place to place when I left Rensselaer.
Physical Problem: Can’t read with my left eye due to a detached retina and surgery in 1950. This ended my tennis playing.
Hobbies;
- In high school, I played tennis recreationally several hours a day during the summer.
- Genealogy – I have been tracing my family back to Scotland in the late 1700’s
- Travel – I took up Scuba Diving when I was 55 years and enjoy going diving in the Caribbean in winter. Also dove on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. We also enjoy foreign travel and next week are going to St. Petersburg, Russia and London.
- Reading
- Sudoku
- Classical Music – I almost always have WMHT or WBKK on when I am at home |
