Obituary for Yorke Edward Rhodes
Yorke E. Rhodes, more widely known as Professor Rhodes, passed away peacefully early Monday morning at age 86 in Sussex, NJ. He is survived by his wife Mechthilde, his sons Yorke Rhodes III of NYC, Chris Rhodes of San Diego, Matthias Raabe of West Orange NJ, and Timothy Rhodes of South Orange, NJ.
Dr. Rhodes received a B.S and M.S. in Chemistry from the Univ of Delaware, completed his Ph.D. at the Univ of Illinois in 1964, and was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale Univ. He joined the chemistry department of New York University in 1965 and developed research areas in SO2 solvent chemistry, electrocyclic reactions, small ring chemistry, and carbocations, especially neighboring group cyclopropane-assisted cation rearrangements. Professor Rhodes was co-founder and Director of the Dual Degree Program in Science & Engineering at New York Univ and Stevens Institute of Technology. From 1981 to 2000 he was Professor in Residence in The Brittany, a university residence hall, where he lived with his family. Perceived by the students as a challenging educator and a welcoming host, a study/event room was dedicated in his name.
During his 36 years as an NYU organic chemistry professor, Professor Rhodes was honored with student, alumni and faculty awards for excellence in teaching. He served as a visiting professor at Harvard, Hunter College, Universität Freiburg, Université de Grenoble, and Technische Universität München (where in 1978 he was an Alexander von Humboldt U.S. Senior Scientist Awardee). In the early 1980s, Dr. Rhodes had research fellowships at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology where he discovered molecules using radio-telescopes that he had theorized could exist in cloud nebula. He also performed an active role in both the New York Academy of Sciences and American Chemical Society and believed strongly in service to the chemistry community, working tirelessly with new administrators and faculty across the country through the ACS. His mentorship is documented by the credit given to him by Eric Jacobsen of Harvard, Neil Garg of UCLA, Lucianne Walkowicz NASA Chair of Astrobiology, and Paul Bracher of Harvard.
Yorke Rhodes enjoyed imparting wisdom on his nine grandchildren. His interests and passions included history, travel, opera, jazz (former trombone enthusiast), gourmet cuisine, genealogy, astronomy, and model trains. His influence and emphasis on science, educating and problem solving from first principles, left a lasting impression.
The family will have a graveside service for Yorke E. Rhodes on Friday October 14 at 11:00 AM at Glenwood Cemetery Vernon, New Jersey Section J-1, #17. If attending the burial, please bring a small bouquet of flowers.
https://goo.gl/maps/c1uKT22MBQ4mFf8w6
Notably Professor Rhodes was a 30-year survivor of lung cancer. The family would appreciate any donations made to Memorial Sloan Kettering in his name: donation link
Dr. Rhodes received a B.S and M.S. in Chemistry from the Univ of Delaware, completed his Ph.D. at the Univ of Illinois in 1964, and was a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale Univ. He joined the chemistry department of New York University in 1965 and developed research areas in SO2 solvent chemistry, electrocyclic reactions, small ring chemistry, and carbocations, especially neighboring group cyclopropane-assisted cation rearrangements. Professor Rhodes was co-founder and Director of the Dual Degree Program in Science & Engineering at New York Univ and Stevens Institute of Technology. From 1981 to 2000 he was Professor in Residence in The Brittany, a university residence hall, where he lived with his family. Perceived by the students as a challenging educator and a welcoming host, a study/event room was dedicated in his name.
During his 36 years as an NYU organic chemistry professor, Professor Rhodes was honored with student, alumni and faculty awards for excellence in teaching. He served as a visiting professor at Harvard, Hunter College, Universität Freiburg, Université de Grenoble, and Technische Universität München (where in 1978 he was an Alexander von Humboldt U.S. Senior Scientist Awardee). In the early 1980s, Dr. Rhodes had research fellowships at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology where he discovered molecules using radio-telescopes that he had theorized could exist in cloud nebula. He also performed an active role in both the New York Academy of Sciences and American Chemical Society and believed strongly in service to the chemistry community, working tirelessly with new administrators and faculty across the country through the ACS. His mentorship is documented by the credit given to him by Eric Jacobsen of Harvard, Neil Garg of UCLA, Lucianne Walkowicz NASA Chair of Astrobiology, and Paul Bracher of Harvard.
Yorke Rhodes enjoyed imparting wisdom on his nine grandchildren. His interests and passions included history, travel, opera, jazz (former trombone enthusiast), gourmet cuisine, genealogy, astronomy, and model trains. His influence and emphasis on science, educating and problem solving from first principles, left a lasting impression.
The family will have a graveside service for Yorke E. Rhodes on Friday October 14 at 11:00 AM at Glenwood Cemetery Vernon, New Jersey Section J-1, #17. If attending the burial, please bring a small bouquet of flowers.
https://goo.gl/maps/c1uKT22MBQ4mFf8w6
Notably Professor Rhodes was a 30-year survivor of lung cancer. The family would appreciate any donations made to Memorial Sloan Kettering in his name: donation link