A Champion for Chemistry: Elements of Jim Morgan’s Intellectual Legacy

Abstract

James (Jim) Morgan was a leading figure in the field of environmental science and engineering. He championed the application of chemistry in the study of the environment and the design and optimization of environmental treatment processes. Jim influenced the field through his classic text Aquatic Chemistry, coauthored with Werner Stumm, his role as founding editor of Environmental Science & Technology, his seminal contribution to computational methods for the calculation of chemical equilibria, and most especially, his mentorship of his extended academic family. Jim transmitted his enthusiasm for research, particularly on the chemistry of manganese and iron, so successfully to his doctoral students and postdoctoral advisees that many of them carried these topics forward in their own careers.

How Aquatic Chemistry Took Root and Has Flourished in China: Classical Textbooks, a Tale of Two Manganese, and a Dynamic Community

“…Jim Morgan is one of the indelible names in the history of this discipline. Jim Morgan’s international legacies include the globally popular textbook Aquatic Chemistry that Werner Stumm and he coauthored, the research frontiers he advanced in environmental engineering and science, and the journal ES&T that he founded with vision, which has become a dynamic and key venue for the global community . How those legacies, reflected in the knowledge of this discipline, were disseminated and flourished internationally contain many inspiring stories and indelible contributions of many pioneers all over the world.…”