We are very sorry to inform you of the sad passing of Jan Rydberg. He was one of the leaders in the use of solvent extraction to measure complex formation in solution, methods then used to separate metals in the reprocessing of metals from waste. He was an inspiring leader and mentor, and had the ability to attract many successful students, four of whom later become professors
Jan’s father was an engineer and inventor, His grandfather was the famous physicist who devised the Rydberg constant. These roots in physics and engineering had an important influence on Jan’s ambitions in life.
Jan’s academic studies started in Stockholm where in 1955 he defended his dissertation: “Studies of complex formation by means of a liquid-liquid distribution method.” Between 1947 and 1963, Jan was employed by the Swedish Defence Research Institute, from 1961 as its research director. In 1962 he was appointed professor in Nuclear Chemistry at Chalmers University of Technology. During his years at Chalmers Jan was a frequent visitor at research institutes and universities in the United States.
At Chalmers, Jan’s main interests were nuclear chemistry, complex chemistry and solvent extraction. The result of teaching students nuclear chemistry at Chalmers led to the book Radiochemistry and Nuclear Chemistry now in its 4th edition while the other topics led to the publication of Solvent Extraction, Principles and Practice.
Jan realized early that solvent extraction research needed a more reliable technique for experimental work and he suggested the mixer-(centrifugal)settler equipment that later became the AKUFVE instrument. The development of AKUFVE in the 1960s was the start of many successful years of research in the solvent extraction field.
Jan was one of the organizers in 1966 of the International Conference on Solvent Extraction Chemistry (ICSEC) in Göteborg. This was the first conference on the subject to bring together delegates broadly from universities and industries (both nuclear and hydrometallurgical) from around the world. This conference led to the triennial International Solvent Extraction Conferences (ISEC) in which Jan was a regular attendee and active participant. Jan was the recipient of many national and international awards and at ISEC 2008 was the recipient of the “Carl Hanson Award” for his outstanding contribution to solvent extraction.
Editor’s note: Professor Rydberg was a founding member of the Editorial Board of this journal who served Solvent Extraction & Ion Exchange in this capacity from 1983 through 2004. We will always remember him as a friend, a colleague, and a mentor to many practitioners of solvent extraction science and technology.
Ken Nash and Bruce Moyer