Lawrence Rocks (chemist)

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Lawrence Rocks
Born (1933-08-27) August 27, 1933 (age 90)
New York, New York, USA
Alma materPurdue University (M.S.), Technische Hochschule Vienna(D.Sc)
Occupation(s)Chemist / Prof. Emeritus, Long Island University
Known forChemistry,
Notable workThe Energy Crisis(Crown Publishers, 1972), Fuels For Tomorrow(PennWell Publishers, 1980)
SpouseMarlene Rocks (married 1968)
ChildrenBurton Rocks

Lawrence Rocks (born August 27, 1933 in New York City) is an American chemist and writer. He wrote a book called The Energy Crisis (Crown, 1972).[1][2][3][4] He has been in Time magazine.[5] He was also in National Review and he has spoken to the United Nations.[6] He has appeared on The Today Show, and To Tell The Truth.[7] He has been a guest on The Mike Douglas Show,[8] and had a column in King Features Syndicate.[9]

In The Energy Crisis, Rocks said that a national energy center should be created.[10] [11] Rocks has been called an energy expert in The New York Times.[12][13]The Energy Crisis has been translated into French, Spanish, and Japanese.[14][15][16] Rocks was influential in the creation of the U.S. Department of Energy.[9] The book is a reference in libraries worldwide.[17][18][19] Rocks appeared on MLB Network in 2017 highlighting his new research in sports chemistry.[20][21] In 2018 Topps featured Rocks on the back of an official baseball card.[22][23][24][25]

Education[change | change source]

Rocks received his Masters of Science degree from Purdue University. He received his Doctor of Science from Technische Hochschule Vienna. He wrote his doctoral thesis in German in the field of analytical chemistry. His thesis discovered separating metal atoms in semi-aqueous solutions, which found that equilibrium constants are changed in semi-aqueous mediums.[26]

Career[change | change source]

Rocks has written other books, such as Developing Your Chemistry Fundamentals(The Petroleum Publishing Company) in 1979.[27] [28][29] In 1980 Rocks wrote Fuels For Tomorrow (PennWell Publishers 1980), a sequel to The Energy Crisis. This book looked at the future of unconventional fuels. He analyzed environmental hazards created by the biofuel industry. Rocks predicted that the ultimate future of agriculture will be in fermentation chemistry. He said this was less hazardous to the environment.[30][31][32] Dr. Rocks is Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Long Island University. He has appeared on television on the subjects of elbow injury for baseball pitchers.[33][34][35][36] Dr. Rocks did research on the effect temperature has on a baseball.[37] Rocks found that the optimal bounce of a baseball lies between 68-75 degrees Fahrenheit because at lower temperatures the elastomeres become more rigid and become softer at higher temperatures.[38][39][40][41] [42]

Dr. Rocks defined his concept of "sports chemistry" as "the combination of modern analytical chemistry with sports metrics".[20] [21][43][44][45] Dr. Rocks' philosophy on the subject of science has been:[39]

"Science is not a subject, it's a method. And the method can be applied to anything. Anybody can be a scientist."

— Lawrence Rocks

Rocks has done extensive research on how sports chemistry relates to music. He called his research, "molecular rhythm to life," when he appeared on Fox Sports Midwest. He said, "There are body rhythms that will one day be understood for the mind."[46] [47] In June 2018 Rocks talked about his new research on what he called tendon chemistry and how a better understanding of the chemistry of tendons can help professional and amateur athletes prevent injury.[23]

Legacy[change | change source]

Topps featured Dr. Rocks on the back of the 2018 future stars series baseball card of MLB player Paul DeJong. He became the first scientist to appear on the back of an official Topps MLB player flagship series future stars baseball card. Paul DeJong's card mentioned DeJong being a laboratory assistant to Rocks in the 2017 off-season. They studied the effects of heat on a baseball.[22][23][24][48][49] [50] Fox Sports Midwest aired the debut of the baseball card on June 18, 2018 live on television in Philadelphia. DeJong and Rocks sat in the dugout together and the baseball card inscription was read aloud.[51] DeJong credited Rocks' theory on the chemistry of tendons with affecting his thinking of off-season training routines.[23][52] Chemical & Engineering News spotlighted Rocks and his honor of making the back of DeJong's baseball card.[25] Rocks' philosophy on learning science is that, "Everybody can do it." [25]

Bibliography[change | change source]

  • Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P (1972). The Energy Crisis. Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-501643.
  • Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P (1972). The Energy Crisis (paperback ed.). Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-501651.
  • Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P (1974). The Energy Crisis [La Crisis Energetica Mundial] (in Spanish). Emece, Buenos Aires.
  • Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P (1974). The Energy Crisis [La Crise De L'Energie] (in French). Lavauzelle, Paris.
  • Rocks, Lawrence (1979). Developing Your Chemistry Fundamentals (1st ed.). The Petroleum Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87814-041-7.
  • Rocks, Lawrence (1980). Fuels For Tomorrow (1st ed.). PennWell Books. ISBN 0-87814-135-9.

Personal life[change | change source]

He and his wife, Marlene, have one son: Burton Rocks [43][53] He is a fan of symphony music.[54]

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "The energy crisis / [by] Lawrence Rocks and Richard P. Runyon". miamioh.edu. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Franklin Record -". Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/632040
  4. ↑ The energy crisis. Crown Publishers. 1972. OCLC 524520.
  5. ↑ [1] Archived August 17, 2013, at the Wayback Machine ' '[[Time (magazine)|]] (May 7, 1973),
  6. ↑ "A Golden Anniversary: Lawrence Rocks is First Faculty Member to Reach 50 Years of Service". Post Press. Vol. 18, no. 1. LIU.edu. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ [2], ' 'To Tell The Truth' ', 1972-73 Episode Guide (' 'To Tell The Truth' ' version two, season four)
  8. ↑ "The Mike Douglas Show". Season 12, Episode 87. January 1, 1974. Broadcast syndication. {{cite episode}}: Text "syndicated" ignored (help) [3] Archived 2019-01-11 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "A Golden Anniversary: Lawrence Rocks is First Faculty Member to Reach 50 Years of Service". Post Press. Vol. 18, no. 1. LIU.edu. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  10. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P (1972). The Energy Crisis. Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-501643.
  11. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P (1972). The Energy Crisis (paperback ed.). Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-501651.
  12. ↑ Smith, William D. (April 17, 1973). "Energy Crisis: Shortages Amid Plenty". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  13. ↑ Welles, Chris (February 25, 1973). "The Energy Crisis". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
  14. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P. (1974). La Crise de l'Energie [The Energy Crisis] (in French) (1st ed.). Lavauzelle. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  15. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P. (1974). La Crisis Energetica Mundial [The Energy Crisis] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  16. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P. (1974). 球エネルギー資源地図 : 危機の時刻表と開発の未来像 /Chikyū enerugī shigen chizu [The Energy Crisis] (in Japanese) (1st ed.). Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  17. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P. (1972). The Energy Crisis. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  18. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P. (1972). The Energy Crisis. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  19. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence; Runyon, Richard P. (1972). The Energy Crisis. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 MLB Now: DeJong and Dr. Rocks. Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "LIU Post Scientist Featured on MLB Network". Long Island University. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Paul DeJong and Dr. Lawrence Rocks on baseball science. Fox Sports. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 Trezza, Joe. "Cards' DeJong happy on field and in science lab". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "LIU Professor Emeritus Dr. Rocks Is a Hit as First Scientist on a Topps Baseball Card". Long Island University. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Davenport, Matt (July 29, 2018). "Science is in the (baseball) cards and comic books". cen.acs.org. Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  26. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1964). Die Trennung von Mikromengen Calcium, Magnesium, Aluminium und Titan von grossen Mengen Eisen, Nickel und Chrom unter Anwendung von Pyrrolidindithiocarbamidat (D.Sc). Wien. OCLC 637130820. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  27. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1979). Developing Your Chemistry Fundamentals: Lawrence Rocks: 978-0878140411: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 0878140417.
  28. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1979). Developing Your Chemistry Fundamentals. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  29. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1979). Developing Your Chemistry Fundamentals (1st ed.). The Petroleum Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87814-041-7.
  30. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1980). Fuels for Tomorrow: Lawrence Rocks: 9780878141357: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 0878141359.
  31. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1980). Fuels For Tomorrow (1st ed.). PennWell Books. ISBN 0-87814-135-9.
  32. ↑ Rocks, Lawrence (1980). "Fuels For Tomorrow". Trove-National Library of Australia. Pennwell Books. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  33. ↑ Drellich, Evan. "A professor's view on chemistry, muscles, bones and injury", ' 'Houston Chronicle' ', August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Faculty". Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  35. ↑ "Body Chemistry in Baseball". July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  36. ↑ Goold, Derrick. "Why Cardinals rookie DeJong averted his gaze during eclipse". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  37. ↑ Goold, Derrick. "Cards had no substantial talks with Lynn; he'll reject qualifying offer". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  38. ↑ Cardinals' DeJong, Renowned Scientist Test Effects Of Heat On Baseball. CBS New York. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Cardinals' DeJong, Renowned Scientist Test Effects Of Heat On Baseball. CBS New York. Archived from the original on November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  40. ↑ "LIU Post Scientist Teams Up with Cardinals' DeJong". November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  41. ↑ "DeJong's 'Epiphany' Came After A Full-Time Move To Shortstop". December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  42. ↑ Allen, Dave. "Paul DeJong shares his story, his time at Cardinals Caravan". Journal Star. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 Goold, Derrick. "Cards' DeJong talks chemistry (not the clubhouse kind) at winter meetings". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  44. ↑ Sports chemistry in baseball. Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  45. ↑ Langosch, Jenifer. "Q&A: DeJong talks offseason, holidays & more". Major League Baseball. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
  46. ↑ Paul DeJong at the Symphony. Major League Baseball. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  47. ↑ Paul DeJong at the Palm Beach Symphony. St. Louis Cardinals. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  48. ↑ "Paul DeJong and Dr. Lawrence Rocks on baseball science". MSN. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  49. ↑ Saxon, Mark (June 19, 2018). "The Ballplayer and The Scientist:Paul DeJong's love for science impacts how he thinks about the game of baseball". theathletic.com. The Athletic. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  50. ↑ Cafardo, Nick. "Sunday Baseball Notes". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  51. ↑ Paul DeJong and Dr. Lawrence Rocks on baseball science. Fox Sports. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  52. ↑ Goold, Derrick. "Cards notebook: Holland welcomes shot at 'uncomfortable' situations". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
  53. ↑ "TEDxSBU". TED.com. November 6, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  54. ↑ "Palm Beach Symphony 16th ANNUAL GALA at The Breakers". Palm Beach Daily News. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
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