Page 33 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2023 - Online Magazine

TEXAS TECH CENTENNIAL

After receiving registered nurse and then earned a master’s in social
the BSc degree work. Later, the dauntless Mrs. Shine found out about
with 1st class rape victims in the area and set about to ensure they
honors, Henry had advocates. She is credited with starting the Rape
was taken on Crisis Center in Lubbock in 1975, and countless victims
by Professor have benefitted from what is now called Voice of Hope.
E. E. (Eustace
Ebenezer) Turner Meanwhile, Dr. Shine immersed himself in his new
of Bedford position at Tech. Dr. Wesley Wendlandt was hired at
College, who was the same time as Shine, and Wendlandt came up with
trying to identify the idea of “monster classes” so that professors would
the molecular have more time to devote to research. Thereafter,
makeup everyone was hired with research in mind. It has paid
of German jet fuel. off for the department, especially with the prolific
Stemming from work of Dr. Henry Shine, who eventually chaired the
that research, department for six years. At 100, he still offices at Texas
Henry received Tech and is a funded Paul W. Horn Distinguished
his PhD degree. Professor, Emeritus.
During that time, During his many years of research at Texas Tech,
Henry became Shine became noted for his work in the chemistry of
fascinated with
the anomalous chemistry of some Grignard reagents. cation radicals and in the mechanisms of aromatic
rearrangements, about which he authored a book.
(Ed Note: A Grignard Reagent is an organomagnesium
compound which can be described by the chemical formula Regarding aromatic rearrangements, Shine pioneered
‘R-Mg-X where R refers to an alkyl or aryl group and X the use of heavy atoms (such as deuterium,
refers to a halogen; but don’t worry, this won’t be on the nitrogen-15, carbon-13, and carbon-14) to solve the
test.) Young Dr. Shine wanted to find out more about mechanism (pathway) of how aromatic molecules
Grignards, so he set out for America, the home of well- (those containing benzene rings) rearrange when
known organometallic chemists. heated in solution or when treated with acids in
solution. Most notable in this subject, Shine, at TTU,
He landed at Iowa State College in Ames, where he solved the mechanism of the benzidine rearrangement;
worked with Dr. Henry Gilman, now known as the that is, how hydrazobenzene turns inside out and
father of organometallic chemistry. Dr. Shine continued becomes benzidine
his career for two years at Caltech, then worked as a in the presence of
research chemist at the U. S. Rubber Co. in Passaic, acids. How and
NJ. During that time, he often stayed with a friend in why this occurs had
Greenwich Village. It was at the friend’s apartment that puzzled chemists for
he met a young student named Sellie Schneider. The 100+ years until the
NYC native was attending Hunter College, majoring in solution was provided
theater and social work. They married in 1953.
at TTU.
Soon after, Dr. Shine heard about an opening at Texas In the case of cation
Technological College. The young couple had never radicals (molecules
heard of Lubbock, and Sellie, who had only lived in from which an
NYC, was in for a big culture shock. But Henry had electron has been
told the Lubbock Community “Little Theater” about removed), Shine
his talented wife, and she found her niche immediately. and his co-workers
For decades she worked behind the scenes managing discovered the
lighting, costumes, sets, and more. She also used her thianthrene cation
training in social work at the Red Cross. She became a
radical and pioneered

This story is generously sponsored by Bob and Debbie Walkup.

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