Robert R. Squires
Robert Reed Squires (January 11, 1953 – September 30, 1998) was an American chemist who helped develop gas-phase ion chemistry and flowing afterglow mass spectrometry. He was born in Oakland, California, and grew up in Los Angeles. He earned an A.A. from El Camino College in 1973, a B.A. from California State University, Chico, and then completed his M.Phil. in 1977 and Ph.D. in 1980 at Yale University, working with Kenneth B. Wiberg on the thermochemistry of organic compounds.
After a postdoctoral stint at the University of Colorado, Boulder, studying gas-phase ion reactions with Charles DePuy and Veronica Bierbaum, Squires joined Purdue University as an assistant professor in 1981. There he built two flowing-afterglow mass spectrometers and was promoted to associate professor in 1986 and to full professor in 1990.
His honors include a Sloan Foundation Fellowship (1987), the American Chemical Society Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry (1991, with Susan Graul), and the Biemann Medal from the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (1998). Purdue established the Robert R. Squires Scholarship in Chemistry in his honor.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 02:28 (CET).