John C. Light

John C. Light, 82, died on Jan. 18, 2016, in Nathrop, Colo.

“John Light was one of the first scientists to describe the dynamics of chemical reactions. The molecular beam experiments performed by physical chemists in the 1960s inspired him to understand chemical dynamics at a molecular scale. His development of theoretical and computational methods for determining reaction rates and related information is important for modeling combustion and atmospheric chemistry. John was an expert at developing numerical tools and algorithms. Many methods that came out of his research are still in common use decades later.”—family of John Light

Most recent title: professor emeritus, University of Chicago; editor, Journal of Chemical Physics

Education: B.S., chemistry, Oberlin College, 1956; Ph.D., chemistry, Harvard University, 1960

Survivors: wife, Phyllis Kittel; sons, David, Robert, and Erik; and 10 grandchildren