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Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California
230 Physical Sciences Bldg.
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Phone: (831) 459-4002
Fax: (831) 459-2935
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Joseph Bunnett Professor Emeritus of Chemistry B.A., Reed College Ph.D., University of Rochester Office: 456 PSB Phone: (831) 459-2261 Fax: (831) 459-2935 bunnett@chemistry.ucsc.edu

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry University of California 1156 High Street Santa Cruz, CA 95064 Office Hours Class Times & Locations

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Organic Chemistry

Joseph Bunnett's research interests are in the kinetics, equilibria and mechanisms of organic reactions. Among reactions he and his students have studied are several involving electron transfer steps. These include aromatic "nucleophilic" substitution by the S_RN1 mechanism, cleavage reactions utilizing sodium in liquid ammonia, and radical reactions that effect dehalogenation of aryl halides by reagents such as sodium methoxide in methanol.

During the 1990's, Bunnett gave much attention to destruction of chemical weapons. He chaired the IUPAC Committee on Chemical Weapons Destruction Technologies. He served on committees of the National Research Council, Department of Defense, and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He participated in several NATO Advanced Research Workshops concerned with chemical weapons problems, and was co-chairman of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Chemical Problems Associated with Old Arsenical and 'Mustard' Munitions, held in Lodz, Poland in April 1996. He co-chaired the Peer Review Committee of the Russian-American Joint Evaluation Program (of assistance to Russia in destroying its chemical munitions).

Bunnett was twice a Fulbright fellow, once a Guggenheim fellow, and once a Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He has served as a visiting lecturer at universities in Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South and North America. He is an honorary member of the Italian Chemical Society, the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, the Sociedad Argentina de Investigaciones en Quimica Organica, and Accademia Gioenia di Catania, Italy. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was Founding Editor of Accounts of Chemical Research. In 1992, he received the American Chemical Society James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, and in 1995 the University of Rochester Distinguished Scholar Medal.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

J. F. Bunnett, "The Culture of Chemistry: A Graduate Course", J. Chem. Educ., 76, 1058-61 (1999).

J. F. Bunnett and M. Mikolajczyk, eds., Arsenic and Old Mustard: Chemical Problems in the Destruction of Old Arsenical and 'Mustard' Munitions (book of proceedings of NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Lodz, Poland, March 1996), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands 1998.

J. F. Bunnett and J. Jenvey, "Reactivity in Cleavage of Dimethoxybenzenes by Sodium in Liquid Ammonia," J. Org. Chem. 61, 8069, 1996.

J. F. Bunnett, "Some Marginal Problems of Scientific Ethics," Chemistry International 18, 84, 1996.

J. F. Bunnett, I. P. Beletskaya, W. Ando, H.D. Durst, C. Eon, D. Froment, R.F. Hudson, R. Leslie, R. Manley, B. McKusick, M. Mikolajczyk, G. Modena, W. Mulbry, and K. Schaffner, "Some Problems in the Destruction of Chemical Munitions, and Recommendations toward their Amelioration," Pure Applied Chem. 67, 841, 1995.

J. Lederberg, G. M. Whitesides, P. Doty, A. I. Terr, J. F. Bunnett, J. D. Baldeschweiler, M. Hamburg, and P. Russell, "Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Persian Gulf War Health Effects", Department of Defense, Washington, DC, 1994.

F. Bickelhaupt, J. F. Bunnett, G. Fraenkel, K. N. Houk, R. L. Schowen, A Streitwieser, and A. Grþslund, "International Evaluation of Physical Organic Chemistry", Naturvetenskapliga forskningsrdet (Swedish Natural Science Research Council), Stockholm, 1993.

J. P. Longwell, G. Apostolakis, J. F. Bunnett, P. S. Daley, G. H. Dyer, D. S. Kosson, W. G. May, M. Meselson, H. Shaw, T. O. Tiernan, B. M. Trost, and J. R. Wild, "Alternative Technologies for the Destruction of Chemical Agents and Munitions", National Academy Press, Washington, D. C., 1993.

J. F. Bunnett, "Some Novel Concepts in Aromatic Reactivity," Tetrahedron 49, 4477, 1993.