PASADENA, Calif. — At 100 years old, Dr. Rudolph Marcus has seen a lot of change, but you wouldn’t know it from his 45-year-old California Institute of Technology office in Pasadena.
“The furniture that you see is from 1978. I like stability. That provides some stability,” he said, pointing to a cabinet filled with decades-old research documents. “That’s an antique.”
But it was instability that marked Marcus’ early years. He was born in Canada and migrated to the United States. When the Great Depression hit, the science behind his childhood chemistry set provided predictability.
“It had a bunch of chemicals that you would mix, and you would make things like soap. It wasn’t very good soap,” Marcus said, laughing. “But you made it [anyways].”
He dedicated himself to studying chemistry, and although the studying came easily, the jobs did not.
“I applied to 35 universities, and as I’ve often said, I didn’t get 35 no’s because not everybody replied,” he said.
Eventually, Marcus landed a professorship and became a pioneer researcher in his field, which led him to map out a theory on electron transfer. The Marcus Theory, as it is called, helps explain a basic chemical reaction of electron movement that is essential for photosynthesis, breathing and life itself. The theory won him the 1992 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He was giving a lecture in Canada when he learned of his success.
“I had just finished giving a talk, some symposium, and somebody came and tapped me on my shoulder and said, ‘There is a call for you,’” he recalled.
”Well, (as a) father of three boys, I immediately thought, ‘Oh my god, something has happened to one of the boys,’” he said. “And he said, ‘(It’s) good news. It’s a call from Stockholm,’ and that’s how I heard about it.”
Later that year, he traveled to Sweden to accept his Nobel prize.
“I grabbed a coat from home that I hadn’t worn for years. Well, when I got on the plane and looked at the coat, it was full of moth holes,” he said. “I tried to repair it with scotch tape and that didn’t look good at all!”
During his layover in Europe, Marcus found a store that sold coats and bought one just in-time for the December ceremony.
The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, since then there have been just over 600 Nobel Prizes. The U.S. is the clear leader, winning over 400. However, U.S. immigrants account for more than a third of those wins, according to a 2021 study by George Mason University. Including Marcus, 148 U.S. immigrants have won the Nobel Prize.
“It really shows that this is the land of opportunity” said UCLA Research Statistician Dr. Prabha Siddarth, one of Marcus’ former students and an Indian immigrant. “Lots of us came here from various countries in the world. We choose to come here, and I think this country does allow for us to blossom in this way, and (Marcus) is a perfect example of that.”
Marcus’ research has served as the catalyst for countless other experiments. His work ethic and relentlessness, Siddarth said, impact generations of students.
“(Marcus) has been one of the greatest sources of inspiration in my life,” Siddarth said.
Marcus’ achievements and his 100th birthday were the cause for celebration recently at a California Institute of Technology event. His love for chemistry and research means he will not retire, but he told Spectrum News there won’t be another Nobel Prize.
“Let me put it this way, there is a greater chance of another 100 years than there is of another prize,” he said.