Melvin Newman, Chemistry

Melvin Newman (1908-1993) was professor of Chemistry at Ohio State. Newman is best known for the Newman projection, which he developed to understand molecular structure. Created in 1952, the projection is used to visualize bonds between atoms and is still referenced worldwide today in textbooks on organic chemistry.

Newman received multiple awards throughout his long career, including the American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (1961) and the Joseph Sullivant Medal from Ohio State (1976). Newman was a Guggenheim Fellow in both 1949 and 1951 and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences.