Ralph Pearson, who died October 12, 2022, aged 103, was an American physical inorganic chemist best known for the development of the concept of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB). He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1943 from Northwestern University, and taught chemistry at Northwestern faculty from 1946 until 1976, when he moved to University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). He retired in 1989 but remained active in research in theoretical inorganic chemistry until his death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Pearson

In article <7c80344e-3d2e-4181-80ce-6631357b0b99n@googlegroups.com>,
Michael Rhodes <mig73allenford2002@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>Ralph Pearson, who died October 12, 2022, aged 103, was an American
>physical inorganic chemist best known for the development of the
>concept of hard and soft acids and bases (HSAB). He received his Ph.D.
>in physical chemistry in 1943 from Northwestern University, and taught
>chemistry at Northwestern faculty from 1946 until 1976, when he moved
>to University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB). He retired in 1989
>but remained active in research in theoretical inorganic chemistry
>until his death.
>
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Pearson

Or, more interestingly, :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSAB_theory

I.e., as I read the original obit, the main thing I wanted to know was:

"What is HSAB and why should I care?"

The above Wikipedia article explains it pretty well.

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