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Herman Pines, 94, professor emeritus of chemistry, died April 10 [1996] at his retirement home in San Rafael, Calif.
Pines was appointed research assistant professor in 1941 and Ipatieff Professor in 1953. He was appointed professor emeritus in 1970 and remained active scientifically until 1995, when he and his wife Dorothy moved to California.
The author of over 265 scientific papers and the holder of 145 patents, Pines was best remembered for his role in discovering chemical reactions that made possible the production of high octane gasoline. That gasoline was produced and sent to England for use by its aircraft during the "Battle of Britain," and is credited with helping the British win that aerial combat.
That role was particularly satisfying to him since most of his family, including his mother and three brothers, are believed to have perished in Hitler's concentration camps.
Starting in 1930, he was a long time collaborator with Vladimir Ipatieff, a brilliant Russian nobleman who migrated to the United States that year. Ipatieff was considered one of the world's leading authorities on the catalysis of hydrocarbons. The two worked for a small Chicago company called Universal Oil Products.
The two extended Pine's original findings concerning the treatment of refined oil with sulfuric acid, and within two years they had discovered a process called the alkylation of alkanes, a process that allowed oil refineries, using a catalyst, to convert gases into high octane gasoline. The new gas was made top secret by the United States Government, and supplied to the British airforce just before the Battle of Britain.
Pines is survived by his wife, his daughter Judy Suessmeier, and three grandchildren.
