John W. Faller, Jr.

Professor of Chemistry

Jack Faller, B.S. and M.S. at the University of Louisville, and Ph.D. at M.I.T., faculty member since 1966, when you joined us at the very young age of 24, you have completed 44 years of exemplary service to the University. When you came, you found a Department that had not included an inorganic chemist for decades. Now, thanks to your efforts, inorganic chemistry at Yale has grown so as to become recognized worldwide as a major center of study in the field. To advance the field, you spearheaded the drive to get an instrument center in the Department; the facility has been a major success and is now used by almost all your colleagues and their students.

You came ‘trailing clouds of glory’ from working with the legendary figures, Davison and Cotton, at MIT. Your work there resulted in what are generally regarded as the 5 foundational papers in the field of fluxional metal complexes. At Yale, you were among the first ever to apply sophisticated nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to the study of inorganic problems. You went on to found the field of conformational analysis as applied to organometallic complexes. Your conceptual advances have been highly influential, in your work on for example, electronic control of reactivity in organometallic complexes. Your sound advice has helped develop the careers of junior colleagues and your collegiality has contributed to the collaborative and supportive environment in the Department. As you retire, we salute a colleague who has advanced his field, his department and his University through complexes that have led to productive catalytic reactions.

Tribute Editor: Penelope Laurans