Niels Bjerrum

rdf:langString Niels Bjerrum

rdf:langString Niels Janniksen Bjerrum (11 March 1879 in Copenhagen – 30 September 1958) was a Danish chemist. Niels Bjerrum was the son of ophthalmologist Jannik Petersen Bjerrum, and started to study at University of Copenhagen in 1897. He received his Master's degree in 1902 and his Doctor's degree in 1908, and did research in coordination complex chemistry under Sophus Mads Jørgensen. He became a docent in 1912, and in 1914 he became professor of chemistry at the Royal Agricultural College (Landbohøjskolen) in Copenhagen, as successor of . He stayed on this post until his retirement in 1949, and from 1939 to 1946 he was also the Director of the College. Importantly, Bjerrum introduced the concept of three forms of molecular energy, translational, vibrational and rotational which was important in understanding vibrational spectroscopy. He is also noted for the theory behind the Bjerrum length, and the Bjerrum plot. Bjerrum also performed some of the first research on the measurement of soil acidity. His son Jannik Bjerrum (1909–1992) also became a chemist and was active in the area of complex chemistry.