Awards
- National Academies - 1958
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
About Ralph Seifert
Ralph was born in Mt. Vernon, Indiana, the son of Daniel F. and Elfrieda C. Seifert on February 4, 1914. He attended high school in Evansville, Indiana, and graduated in 1930 as valedictorian of his class. He continued his education at Evansville College and earned his B.A. degree in chemistry in 1934. His graduate work was at the University of Illinois from which he received his M.A. degree in 1935 and Ph.D. in 1938. During 1937-38, he was an instructor in physical chemistry at the University of Illinois. Seifert came to Indiana University in September of 1949 and became an important contributor to the revitalization of the Department of Chemistry after World War II. He served the department as a teacher, research scientist, mentor to several graduate students, and advisor to undergraduates until his retirement in 1978. Ralph's scientific career was divided between liberal arts colleges and Indiana University. From 1938 through 1944 he taught at Alma College, Michigan, and rose from the rank of instructor to professor and chairman of the department. In 1944, he went to the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, where he spent two years in developmental work concerned with the World War II effort. After this experience, he returned to teaching as an associate professor at Carleton College, Wisconsin.
Indiana University hired Ralph Seifert in the Department of Chemistry as an associate professor in 1949. He was promoted to professor of chemistry in 1966. Seifert’s research interests, influenced by his work during the war at the Metallurgical Laboratory, centered upon the electrochemical study of molten salts, the determination of transport numbers of salts dissolved in molten salts, and the vapor pressure of very refractory substances such as beryllium oxide. He continued his association with the Argonne Laboratory, the successor of the Metallurgical Laboratory, as a consultant for several years while at Indiana University. His research resulted in his appointment to the advisory board of the Journal of Physical Chemistry in 1967, and he served for several years in that capacity. While at Indiana University, Ralph's record of achievement as a teacher included a textbook entitled Physical Chemistry written jointly with Frank T. Gucker, Jr. This textbook was designed for beginning college courses in physical chemistry and was published in 1966 by W. W. Norton & Co. of New York City. Ralph was a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, Phi Lambda Upsilon, and Alpha Chi Sigma. Ralph Louis Seifert , Sr., died in Bloomington, Indiana, on April 23, 1987 at the age of 73.