Hassel, Odd (1897-1981), a Norwegian chemist, shared the 1969 Nobel Prize for chemistry with Derek Barton of the United Kingdom for studies relating chemical reactions with the three-dimensional shape of molecules (see Barton, Sir Derek ). His work helped to develop the science of conformational analysis, the study of the spatial arrangements of atoms in a molecule, and how this affects chemical behavior.
From 1930, Hassel started to investigate molecular structure, particularly of substances related to cyclohexane, a chemical that has six carbon atoms joined in a ring (see Hydrocarbon (Aromatics) ). Hassel used such techniques as electron diffraction, in which scientists pass a beam of electrons through a substance and analyze the atomic structure of that substance from how the beam is affected (see Molecule (Studying molecules) ). Hassel determined the structure of the substances related to cyclohexane, and clarified the possible conformations (spatial arrangements) of their molecules.
Hassel was born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway. After graduating from the University of Oslo, he went to Germany in 1922, studying at the universities of Munich and Berlin. He obtained his Ph.D. from Berlin in 1924. He joined the staff of the University of Oslo in 1925 and, from 1934 to 1964, was a professor and director of the department of physical chemistry there. In 1934, he wrote Kristallchemie (Crystal Chemistry).
During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Derek Barton continued Hassel’s pioneering work. The study of conformational analysis is now an important part of the study of chemical structures.
