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Charles Bonner Harris (April 24, 1940 – March 10, 2020) was an American physical chemist.

Education and career

Charles B. Harris was born in New York City and spent most of his youth in Grosse Pointe. He attended the University of Michigan and received a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1963. In 1966 he received his Ph.D. in chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under F. Albert Cotton. The following year, Harris went to the University of California, Berkeley, where he became a professor in the chemistry department. He headed this department from 2003 and was dean of the faculty from 2004 to 2007. In 2015 he retired. His research focus was in the field of ultrafast dynamics and electron dynamics as well as the dynamics of chemical reactions in liquids.

He educated multiple generations of scientists in chemical dynamics and ultrafast science who have since become leaders in the field including, as Ph.D. students, Paul Alivisatos, Michael D. Fayer, Roseanne Sension, Nien-hui Ge, Kelly Gaffney and as postdocs, Ahmed Zewail and Alan Campion.

Honors and awards

Harris was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2002. Besides, he is also a member the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the Optical Society of America.

References

1. "Charles B. Harris biographical memoir" (PDF).
2. "In Memoriam: Charles B. Harris | College of Chemistry". chemistry.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-08.

• 1940 births
• 2020 deaths
• University of California, Berkeley faculty
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
• Physical chemists
• Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Fellows of the American Physical Society
• Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
• American chemists
• Scientists from New York City