Nibbering, N.M.M.

Nibbering, Nico M.M.

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OBITUARY
Wim J. van der Hart, April 17, 1935–March 10, 2009Wim Jacobus van der Hart was born in Rotter-dam, The Netherlands. After having finishedhis high school education in 1952 at the St.
Franciscus College in Rotterdam, he studied chemistry
at the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, where he
received his bachelor’s degree in 1959 and his master’s
degree cum laude in theoretical organic chemistry in
1961 with Professor Luitzen J. Oosterhoff. Subsequently,
he completed his Ph.D. in 1968 under the guidance of
Professor Oosterhoff, and published his Ph.D. thesis,
entitled: “Proton Splittings in Electron Spin Resonance
Spectroscopy.”
During that period Dr. van der Hart met Jopie A.
van der Hoek who also studied theoretical organic
chemistry at the University of Leiden and to whom
he was married in December 1964 in Leiden, The
Netherlands.
Dr. van der Hart and his wife raised two sons, Hugo
and Jaap.
Following his Ph.D. study, Dr. van der Hart was
appointed as Assistant Professor, and in 1984 as Asso-
ciate Professor in organic chemistry at the University of
Leiden, where he spent his whole career until his
retirement in 1997. My first contact with Wim dates
from the beginning of the 1970s. He had built a drift-cell
ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) mass spectrometer from
commercially available and in-house designed compo-
nents with the aim to study the chemistry of ions with
Address reprint requests to Dr. Nico M. M. Nibbering, Department of
Physical Chemistry, Laser Centre, Division Chemistry, Faculty of Exact
Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The
Netherlands. E-mail: nibberin@chem.vu.nl
1044-0305/09/$32.00
doi:10.1016/j.jasms.2009.07.001
(J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2009, 20, 1944–1945)neutral molecules in the gas phase. My own group had
then purchased a drift-cell Varian V-9503 ICR mass
spectrometer on the basis of a grant awarded in 1970 by
the chemistry division of The Netherlands Organization
for Pure Research (SON/ZWO). We both were inter-
ested to study and determine intrinsic properties; Wim
was particularly interested in those organic molecules
that were important in the theoretical research that took
place in the group of Professor Oosterhoff. Our strong
motivation for such research had been induced by the
work of Professor John I. Brauman of the University of
Stanford, California, USA, who had shown that the
gas-phase basicity order of simple aliphatic amines was
opposite to that in the liquid phase, owing to solvent
effects that obscured the intrinsic properties of the
amines.
Initially, Dr. van der Hart studied in cooperation
with Dr. Jan van Thuijl of the University of Leiden some
aromatic substitution reactions and obtained interesting
results. However, following the development of the ICR
ion trap, Wim very soon changed his research interest
to photodissociation of ions by use of lasers. This was
because one interest in mass spectrometry was rapidly
growing, namely, the determination of the structures, in
terms of atom connectivity of gas-phase ions that were
formed and that often showed a mysterious behavior.
Various techniques had been developed, such as collision-
induced dissociation to obtain insight in and/or eluci-
date these structures. Photodissociation turned out to
be a unique, and for some types of ions (e.g., aliphatic
and aromatic hydrocarbon ions), a very powerful
method for ion structure identification. In combination
1945J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2009, 20, 1944–1945 OBITUARYwith theoretical calculations, it became a powerful
approach. These types of ions are known in mass
spectrometry to be very complex systems owing to the
many rearrangements they undergo.
The research of Wim on the photodissociation of
ionized benzene and many of its isomers coupled to
theoretical calculations provided a much deeper insight
into the underlying chemistry of occurring rearrange-
ments and associated potential energy surfaces than
existed prior. In this way he had developed himself as
the European top-expert in the field of photodissocia-
tion and an international expert, along with his Amer-
ican colleague, Professor Robert C. Dunbar of Case
Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, with
whom he had several contacts.
Wim presented his work at the two-week NATO
Advanced Study Institutes, held every four years and
mostly at remote places in the non-NATO country
France. These conferences were limited to about 100
participants, one-half from Europe and the other half
from the U.S.A. They were very suited to Wim to
present his research results and to discuss themwith his
colleagues present. I still remember very well that Wim
and I discussed extensively our future plans with
regard to ICR during long walks at the beach of La
Baule, France, in 1978, where then the NATO Advanced
Study Institute Conference on Kinetics of Ion/Molecule
Reactions took place. Wim wanted to implement the
rapid scan method, developed by Professor Robert T.
McIver of the University at Irvine, California, U.S.A., on
his ICR instrument, whereas I was more interested to
build a broad-band Fourier transform ICR spectrome-
ter, which at that time seemed technically possible. We
both have been able to pursue our plans successfully,
and the resulting instruments were used extensively in
our scientific cooperation over the years.Dr. van der Hart did not like to attend meetings with
thousands of participants. However, he has made one
exception. That was for the 12th International Mass
Spectrometry Conference at Amsterdam in 1991, where
he presented an excellent overview lecture on photo-
dissociation. Since the founding of the Institute of Mass
Spectrometry at the University of Amsterdam in 1988,
Dr. van der Hart also attended very regularly the
research presentations of my Ph.D. students, and stim-
ulated them by his valuable comments. At the end of
our careers, we had obtained a grant from the chemistry
division of The Netherlands Organization of Scientific
Research (SON/NWO) for a Ph.D. study project on
thermodynamic properties of light excited molecules.
Friso W.H. van Amerom performed the nontrivial ex-
periments for this project successfully and obtained his
Ph.D. degree with us.
After his retirement, Wim continued to perform
theoretical calculations on his computer at home, and
we were able to discuss his results regularly, leading to
some joint publications. However, two years ago,
Wim’s physical state became notably weaker, and after
he broke his hip in December 2008, he passed away in
March 2009 in Oegstgeest, The Netherlands. I will
remember Wim as a very capable colleague, but in
particular as a close and pleasant friend, and I thank
him for the long-standing and enjoyable scientific co-
operation we had.
Nico M. M. Nibbering
Department of Physical Chemistry, Laser Centre
Division Chemistry, Faculty of Exact Sciences
Vrije Universiteit
Amsterdam, The Netherlands


Wim J. van der Hart, April 17, 1935–March 10, 2009 

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VU Research PortalWim J. van der hart, April 17, 1935-March 10, 2009 OBITUARYNibbering, N.M.M.published inJournal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry2009DOI (link to publisher)10.1016/j.jasms.2009.07.001document versionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink to publication in VU Research Portalcitation for published version (APA)Nibbering, N. M. M. (2009). Wim J. van der hart, April 17, 1935-March 10, 2009 OBITUARY. Journal of theAmerican Society for Mass Spectrometry, 20(10), 1944-1945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasms.2009.07.001General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright ownersand it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.            • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.            • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain            • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ?Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.E-mail address:vuresearchportal.ub@vu.nlDownload date: 23. May. 2021OBITUARYWim J. van der Hart, April 17, 1935–March 10, 2009Wim Jacobus van der Hart was born in Rotter-dam, The Netherlands. After having finishedhis high school education in 1952 at the St.Franciscus College in Rotterdam, he studied chemistryat the University of Leiden, The Netherlands, where hereceived his bachelor’s degree in 1959 and his master’sdegree cum laude in theoretical organic chemistry in1961 with Professor Luitzen J. Oosterhoff. Subsequently,he completed his Ph.D. in 1968 under the guidance ofProfessor Oosterhoff, and published his Ph.D. thesis,entitled: “Proton Splittings in Electron Spin ResonanceSpectroscopy.”During that period Dr. van der Hart met Jopie A.van der Hoek who also studied theoretical organicchemistry at the University of Leiden and to whomhe was married in December 1964 in Leiden, TheNetherlands.Dr. van der Hart and his wife raised two sons, Hugoand Jaap.Following his Ph.D. study, Dr. van der Hart wasappointed as Assistant Professor, and in 1984 as Asso-ciate Professor in organic chemistry at the University ofLeiden, where he spent his whole career until hisretirement in 1997. My first contact with Wim datesfrom the beginning of the 1970s. He had built a drift-cellion cyclotron resonance (ICR) mass spectrometer fromcommercially available and in-house designed compo-nents with the aim to study the chemistry of ions withAddress reprint requests to Dr. Nico M. M. Nibbering, Department ofPhysical Chemistry, Laser Centre, Division Chemistry, Faculty of ExactSciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1083, 1081 HV Amsterdam, TheNetherlands. E-mail: nibberin@chem.vu.nl1044-0305/09/$32.00doi:10.1016/j.jasms.2009.07.001(J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2009, 20, 1944–1945)neutral molecules in the gas phase. My own group hadthen purchased a drift-cell Varian V-9503 ICR massspectrometer on the basis of a grant awarded in 1970 bythe chemistry division of The Netherlands Organizationfor Pure Research (SON/ZWO). We both were inter-ested to study and determine intrinsic properties; Wimwas particularly interested in those organic moleculesthat were important in the theoretical research that tookplace in the group of Professor Oosterhoff. Our strongmotivation for such research had been induced by thework of Professor John I. Brauman of the University ofStanford, California, USA, who had shown that thegas-phase basicity order of simple aliphatic amines wasopposite to that in the liquid phase, owing to solventeffects that obscured the intrinsic properties of theamines.Initially, Dr. van der Hart studied in cooperationwith Dr. Jan van Thuijl of the University of Leiden somearomatic substitution reactions and obtained interestingresults. However, following the development of the ICRion trap, Wim very soon changed his research interestto photodissociation of ions by use of lasers. This wasbecause one interest in mass spectrometry was rapidlygrowing, namely, the determination of the structures, interms of atom connectivity of gas-phase ions that wereformed and that often showed a mysterious behavior.Various techniques had been developed, such as collision-induced dissociation to obtain insight in and/or eluci-date these structures. Photodissociation turned out tobe a unique, and for some types of ions (e.g., aliphaticand aromatic hydrocarbon ions), a very powerfulmethod for ion structure identification. In combination1945J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2009, 20, 1944–1945 OBITUARYwith theoretical calculations, it became a powerfulapproach. These types of ions are known in massspectrometry to be very complex systems owing to themany rearrangements they undergo.The research of Wim on the photodissociation ofionized benzene and many of its isomers coupled totheoretical calculations provided a much deeper insightinto the underlying chemistry of occurring rearrange-ments and associated potential energy surfaces thanexisted prior. In this way he had developed himself asthe European top-expert in the field of photodissocia-tion and an international expert, along with his Amer-ican colleague, Professor Robert C. Dunbar of CaseWestern Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, withwhom he had several contacts.Wim presented his work at the two-week NATOAdvanced Study Institutes, held every four years andmostly at remote places in the non-NATO countryFrance. These conferences were limited to about 100participants, one-half from Europe and the other halffrom the U.S.A. They were very suited to Wim topresent his research results and to discuss them with hiscolleagues present. I still remember very well that Wimand I discussed extensively our future plans withregard to ICR during long walks at the beach of LaBaule, France, in 1978, where then the NATO AdvancedStudy Institute Conference on Kinetics of Ion/MoleculeReactions took place. Wim wanted to implement therapid scan method, developed by Professor Robert T.McIver of the University at Irvine, California, U.S.A., onhis ICR instrument, whereas I was more interested tobuild a broad-band Fourier transform ICR spectrome-ter, which at that time seemed technically possible. Weboth have been able to pursue our plans successfully,and the resulting instruments were used extensively inour scientific cooperation over the years.Dr. van der Hart did not like to attend meetings withthousands of participants. However, he has made oneexception. That was for the 12th International MassSpectrometry Conference at Amsterdam in 1991, wherehe presented an excellent overview lecture on photo-dissociation. Since the founding of the Institute of MassSpectrometry at the University of Amsterdam in 1988,Dr. van der Hart also attended very regularly theresearch presentations of my Ph.D. students, and stim-ulated them by his valuable comments. At the end ofour careers, we had obtained a grant from the chemistrydivision of The Netherlands Organization of ScientificResearch (SON/NWO) for a Ph.D. study project onthermodynamic properties of light excited molecules.Friso W.H. van Amerom performed the nontrivial ex-periments for this project successfully and obtained hisPh.D. degree with us.After his retirement, Wim continued to performtheoretical calculations on his computer at home, andwe were able to discuss his results regularly, leading tosome joint publications. However, two years ago,Wim’s physical state became notably weaker, and afterhe broke his hip in December 2008, he passed away inMarch 2009 in Oegstgeest, The Netherlands. I willremember Wim as a very capable colleague, but inparticular as a close and pleasant friend, and I thankhim for the long-standing and enjoyable scientific co-operation we had.Nico M. M. NibberingDepartment of Physical Chemistry, Laser CentreDivision Chemistry, Faculty of Exact SciencesVrije UniversiteitAmsterdam, The Netherlands

Wim J. van der hart, April 17, 1935-March 10, 2009 OBITUARY

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