Donald J. Darensbourg

Donald J. Darensbourg
Born	Donald Jude Darensbourg 1941 (age 82–83) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Alma mater	California State University BS (1964) University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign PhD (1968)
Scientific career
Thesis	Infrared intensities in substituted metal carbonyls (1968)
Doctoral advisor	Theodore L. Brown

Donald J. Darensbourg is an American inorganic chemist. He is a distinguished professor of chemistry at Texas A&M University. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2022. His impactful work delves into spectroscopic and mechanistic exploration of metal carbonyl derivatives, alongside his research into the chemistry of carbon dioxide with various metal substrates, defining catalytic copolymerization reactions involving carbon dioxide, epoxides, or oxetanes.

Education

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 1941, Darensbourg obtained a BS from California State University in 1964, followed by a PhD from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1968 under the guidance of Theodore L. Brown.

Career

Darensbourg started work as a research chemist at Texaco Research Center in 1968. In 1969, he was appointed assistant professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1973, he taught at Tulane University, eventually attaining the rank of professor. In 1982, Donald Darensbourg moved to Texas A&M University with Marcetta Y. Darensbourg. He was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor in 2010.

Darensbourg's research interests include using carbon dioxide as monomer and solvent in the production of biodegradable copolymers.

External links

Voices of Inorganic Chemistry Interview - Donald J. Darensbourg and Marcetta Y. Darensbourg (YouTube link)

Further reading

• Darensbourg, Donald J. (2010). "Chemistry of Carbon Dioxide Relevant to Its Utilization: A Personal Perspective". Inorg. Chem. 49 (23): 10765–10780. doi:10.1021/ic101800d. PMID 20973491.