Dr Sidney Benson was one of three children born to Julius and Dora Benesowitz. Julius was born in the Minsk Goberniya of the Russian Empire and came to the U.S. at age seven in 1905, legally changing his surname to Benson in 1920. Julius owned a delicatessen in partnership with brother-in-law Harry Mandel in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.Excerpts from the obituary published in Dornsife Life Magazine, January 4, 2012:
In Memoriam: Sidney W. Benson, 93
Born September 26, 1918 in New York City, Sidney Benson was among the few hundred exceptional students selected to attend what is now the Bronx High School of Science. In 1938 he earned his A.B. degree with honors in chemistry, physics and mathematics from Columbia College. He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1941 from Harvard University, studying under George Kistiakowsky, a chemistry professor who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Eisenhower's science advisor.
After a teaching stint at City College of New York, Benson served as group leader at Kellex Corporation for the Manhattan Project, the research program that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II.
From 1943 to 1963, he rose through the ranks at the University of Southern California. In addition to his research contributions, in 1947 he co-founded USC's first governance body, the University Senate, serving as its initial secretary while well-known English professor Frank Baxter became its first president. The group created many changes at USC after the post-WWII G.I. Bill of Rights led to the massive increases in the student population.
In 1963, Benson took a post at the Stanford Research Institute, where his colleagues say they were privileged to work with him. An expert in air pollution formation as a combustion process, Benson said he took the position in Northern California because his wife became allergic to the Los Angeles smog. But in 1976 they returned to Los Angeles, and Benson to USC.
In 1981 Benson became the second scholar at USC elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Benson was dearly loved by his undergraduates, graduates and post-doctoral researchers. Benson's textbook "The Foundations of Chemical Kinetics," first published in 1960, remains a seminal contribution to the field. Another major book includes "Thermochemical Kinetics: Methods for the Estimation of Thermochemical Data and Rate Parameters," 1976.
He earned many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1984 he received the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship. In 1986 he was awarded the USC Presidential Medallion, the University's top recognition for those who have brought honor and distinction to the campus. He received the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and retired in 1994.
In addition to his wife Anna Bruni Benson, he is survived by his son Nicholas, his adopted daughter Jeannette Hamilton, stepchildren Mara Lee Maltauro, Sunishta Brahm and Mark Seldis, granddaughter Sydney, brother Albert and sister Rhoda Kream.
In Memoriam: Sidney W. Benson, 93
Born September 26, 1918 in New York City, Sidney Benson was among the few hundred exceptional students selected to attend what is now the Bronx High School of Science. In 1938 he earned his A.B. degree with honors in chemistry, physics and mathematics from Columbia College. He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1941 from Harvard University, studying under George Kistiakowsky, a chemistry professor who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Eisenhower's science advisor.
After a teaching stint at City College of New York, Benson served as group leader at Kellex Corporation for the Manhattan Project, the research program that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II.
From 1943 to 1963, he rose through the ranks at the University of Southern California. In addition to his research contributions, in 1947 he co-founded USC's first governance body, the University Senate, serving as its initial secretary while well-known English professor Frank Baxter became its first president. The group created many changes at USC after the post-WWII G.I. Bill of Rights led to the massive increases in the student population.
In 1963, Benson took a post at the Stanford Research Institute, where his colleagues say they were privileged to work with him. An expert in air pollution formation as a combustion process, Benson said he took the position in Northern California because his wife became allergic to the Los Angeles smog. But in 1976 they returned to Los Angeles, and Benson to USC.
In 1981 Benson became the second scholar at USC elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Benson was dearly loved by his undergraduates, graduates and post-doctoral researchers. Benson's textbook "The Foundations of Chemical Kinetics," first published in 1960, remains a seminal contribution to the field. Another major book includes "Thermochemical Kinetics: Methods for the Estimation of Thermochemical Data and Rate Parameters," 1976.
He earned many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1984 he received the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship. In 1986 he was awarded the USC Presidential Medallion, the University's top recognition for those who have brought honor and distinction to the campus. He received the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and retired in 1994.
In addition to his wife Anna Bruni Benson, he is survived by his son Nicholas, his adopted daughter Jeannette Hamilton, stepchildren Mara Lee Maltauro, Sunishta Brahm and Mark Seldis, granddaughter Sydney, brother Albert and sister Rhoda Kream.
Dr Sidney Benson was one of three children born to Julius and Dora Benesowitz. Julius was born in the Minsk Goberniya of the Russian Empire and came to the U.S. at age seven in 1905, legally changing his surname to Benson in 1920. Julius owned a delicatessen in partnership with brother-in-law Harry Mandel in the Lower East Side of Manhattan.Excerpts from the obituary published in Dornsife Life Magazine, January 4, 2012:
In Memoriam: Sidney W. Benson, 93
Born September 26, 1918 in New York City, Sidney Benson was among the few hundred exceptional students selected to attend what is now the Bronx High School of Science. In 1938 he earned his A.B. degree with honors in chemistry, physics and mathematics from Columbia College. He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1941 from Harvard University, studying under George Kistiakowsky, a chemistry professor who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Eisenhower's science advisor.
After a teaching stint at City College of New York, Benson served as group leader at Kellex Corporation for the Manhattan Project, the research program that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II.
From 1943 to 1963, he rose through the ranks at the University of Southern California. In addition to his research contributions, in 1947 he co-founded USC's first governance body, the University Senate, serving as its initial secretary while well-known English professor Frank Baxter became its first president. The group created many changes at USC after the post-WWII G.I. Bill of Rights led to the massive increases in the student population.
In 1963, Benson took a post at the Stanford Research Institute, where his colleagues say they were privileged to work with him. An expert in air pollution formation as a combustion process, Benson said he took the position in Northern California because his wife became allergic to the Los Angeles smog. But in 1976 they returned to Los Angeles, and Benson to USC.
In 1981 Benson became the second scholar at USC elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Benson was dearly loved by his undergraduates, graduates and post-doctoral researchers. Benson's textbook "The Foundations of Chemical Kinetics," first published in 1960, remains a seminal contribution to the field. Another major book includes "Thermochemical Kinetics: Methods for the Estimation of Thermochemical Data and Rate Parameters," 1976.
He earned many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1984 he received the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship. In 1986 he was awarded the USC Presidential Medallion, the University's top recognition for those who have brought honor and distinction to the campus. He received the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and retired in 1994.
In addition to his wife Anna Bruni Benson, he is survived by his son Nicholas, his adopted daughter Jeannette Hamilton, stepchildren Mara Lee Maltauro, Sunishta Brahm and Mark Seldis, granddaughter Sydney, brother Albert and sister Rhoda Kream.
In Memoriam: Sidney W. Benson, 93
Born September 26, 1918 in New York City, Sidney Benson was among the few hundred exceptional students selected to attend what is now the Bronx High School of Science. In 1938 he earned his A.B. degree with honors in chemistry, physics and mathematics from Columbia College. He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1941 from Harvard University, studying under George Kistiakowsky, a chemistry professor who participated in the Manhattan Project and later served as President Eisenhower's science advisor.
After a teaching stint at City College of New York, Benson served as group leader at Kellex Corporation for the Manhattan Project, the research program that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II.
From 1943 to 1963, he rose through the ranks at the University of Southern California. In addition to his research contributions, in 1947 he co-founded USC's first governance body, the University Senate, serving as its initial secretary while well-known English professor Frank Baxter became its first president. The group created many changes at USC after the post-WWII G.I. Bill of Rights led to the massive increases in the student population.
In 1963, Benson took a post at the Stanford Research Institute, where his colleagues say they were privileged to work with him. An expert in air pollution formation as a combustion process, Benson said he took the position in Northern California because his wife became allergic to the Los Angeles smog. But in 1976 they returned to Los Angeles, and Benson to USC.
In 1981 Benson became the second scholar at USC elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Benson was dearly loved by his undergraduates, graduates and post-doctoral researchers. Benson's textbook "The Foundations of Chemical Kinetics," first published in 1960, remains a seminal contribution to the field. Another major book includes "Thermochemical Kinetics: Methods for the Estimation of Thermochemical Data and Rate Parameters," 1976.
He earned many honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1984 he received the USC Associates Award for Creativity in Research and Scholarship. In 1986 he was awarded the USC Presidential Medallion, the University's top recognition for those who have brought honor and distinction to the campus. He received the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990 and retired in 1994.
In addition to his wife Anna Bruni Benson, he is survived by his son Nicholas, his adopted daughter Jeannette Hamilton, stepchildren Mara Lee Maltauro, Sunishta Brahm and Mark Seldis, granddaughter Sydney, brother Albert and sister Rhoda Kream.
