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A&M Scholar Cotton, 76, Dies
By Kristy Gillentine
The Eagle (Texas A&M)

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Cotton earned his doctorate from Harvard University and, at 31, became the youngest Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty member to attain the rank of full professor. He joined the A&M faculty in 1972 as the Robert A. Welch Professor of Chemistry and was named distinguished professor a year later.

A catalog of awards and honors was presented to Cotton - holder of the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair in Chemistry at Texas A&M and director of the Laboratory for Molecular Structure and Bonding. In 1998, he was named to a list of the 75 most influential chemists since 1923 by readers of Chemical & Engineering News.

Other accolades include the National Medal of Science, the Priestley Medal, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Science and the Wolf Prize. He also served as a member of the American Philosophical Society and the National Academies of Sciences of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Denmark.

Cotton won more awards than any other faculty member in Texas A&M history, officials said, and he received 29 honorary doctorates from universities around the world - another A&M record, according to university spokesman Lane Stephenson.

He also is among the most-cited researchers in chemistry. Cotton wrote five text and reference books, including editions that have been translated into 40 languages, and he authored or co-authored more than 1,600 publications - the most in Texas A&M's history.

Cotton's work in inorganic chemistry branched out to affect areas such as biochemistry, molecular biology, chemical engineering and physics. Theories developed in his research have grown into processes that produce high-octane gasoline, synthetic motor oils, paint brighteners and high-strength plastics, officials said.

Beyond research achievements and scholarly recognition, Cotton was also a teacher. He set the record at Texas A&M for supervising the most graduate students who went on to earn their doctoral degrees, Newton said, and he considered that one of his proudest accomplishments.

"Students loved [Cotton], and he loved them. He was outgoing, and he had a great personality. When he walked into a room, all the attention was on him," Newton said. "It's hard for me to think of him as being gone."

But Cotton's name will remain on the lips of students and faculty for years to come, Newton said.

"His whole career at A&M was spent during the time that Texas A&M became a world-class university, and he had a lot to do with that. People knew who he was, and they came to work here because he worked here," Newton said.

"I don't know how we'll ever replace him," he added.

Cotton is survived by his wife of 47 years, Diane, and their two daughters, Jennifer and Jane.

The family has requested that donations be made to the F.A. Cotton Endowed Memorial Graduate Travel Award to support graduate students in the Department of Chemistry. Donations can be sent in care of the Texas A&M Foundation, 401 George Bush Drive, College Station, TX 77840.

A memorial service will planned later.

• Kristy Gillentine's e-mail address is kristy.gillentine@theeagle.com.

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