Ellis Ridgeway Lippincott Jr. (July 6, 1920 – December 24, 1974) was an American chemist, educator, inventor, science leader, and pioneer in spectroscopy.
Afterward he spent a year doing post-doctoral work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Spectroscopy Laboratory under lab director Richard C. Lord, with whom he maintained a lifelong professional association.
[7] He founded and directed the Laser Raman Institute and Workshop at the University of Maryland, a week-long training program for scientists in the application of laser methods of research and featuring lectures by distinguished scientists on the theory of Raman spectroscopy and interpretation of spectra and instruction in advanced instrumentation.
The center was one of 12 elite interdisciplinary laboratories sponsored by the Advanced Projects Research Agency (predecessor to the Defense Department's DARPA).
Lippincott's scientific research spanned a wide range of areas, including physical chemistry, quantum chemistry, biophysics, molecular spectra and structure, high-pressure optics, thermodynamic equilibrium in complex systems, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, hydrogen bonding, potential energy functions, applications of spectral studies to biochemistry and chemical applications of lasers, chemical and analytical applications of induced electron emission spectroscopy.
[citation needed][10] One of Lippincott's earliest research contributions was the "Lippincott-Schroeder potential," a theoretical model for hydrogen bonding which he developed with his student Rudolph Schroeder.
[11][12][13] Of this work it has been said: "This fundamental research, cited almost 900 times as of February, 2024, describes the potential energy associated with the interaction between hydrogen atoms and an electronegative partner in a molecular complex.
Despite being proposed in the 1950s, the LS potential has proven to be an enduring and accurate model for hydrogen bonds, remaining relevant even with the advent of sophisticated ab initio computations seven decades later.
Multiple papers have been published evaluating and testing this model against experimental data, and it continues to stand as an accurate representation of the hydrogen bond, showcasing Lippincott's valuable contributions to chemistry.
"[14][15] Among other research, Lippincott investigated the organic evolution of living cells from non-living compounds (i.e., the origins of life) and studied the chemical composition of planetary atmospheres of Jupiter, Mars and Venus.