Mulliken, Robert Sanderson (1896-1986), an American chemist, won the 1966 Nobel Prize for chemistry. He received the award for his molecular-orbital theory, which he adopted in 1925. This theory describes the arrangement of electrons in molecules.
The electrons of an atom orbit its nucleus. Scientists once believed that the electrons continued to orbit the individual atomic nuclei after atoms had combined to form a molecule. But Mulliken showed that each atom’s outermost electrons can orbit the entire molecule. Most scientists accept this theory.
The molecular-orbital theory has been applied in such fields as biological and industrial research. For example, scientists have used the theory to study the structure of proteins, plastics, and a number of other complex compounds.
Mulliken was born on June 7, 1896, in Newburyport, Mass. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1917 and received a Ph.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1921. Mulliken taught at the university from 1928 to 1961. He died on Oct. 31, 1986.
