Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom

Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom ( born October 24, 1854 in Alkmaar, † February 8, 1907 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch chemist who is best known for his work on the phase theory in physical chemistry.

Bakhuis Roozeboom (sometimes called " Bakhuys ") was born October 24, 1854 in Alkmaar in the Netherlands. Due to financial difficulties, he was initially able to compete no university education, after school, he worked for some time in a chemical factory. The support of his mentor, J. M. van Bemmelen, brought him in 1878 the post of an assistant at the University of Leiden, which he also allowed there to begin his studies in chemistry. In 1881 he became a teacher at a secondary school for girls and 1884 he completed his PhD on hydrates of acids. Johannes D. van der Waals drew his attention to the theoretical work of Gibbs on the phase rule, the Roozeboom allowed his experimental findings to substantiate theoretically and resulted in a permanent research activity in this field. In 1896 he became Professor of Chemistry in Amsterdam, where he died on February 8, 1907.

Its chemical research activity extended significantly to the field of thermodynamics and the study of multiphase systems. The theoretical foundations for this were laid by Gibbs, but Roozebooms merit was to apply the theory and to demonstrate their usefulness. Roozeboom is mainly for its melting diagrams of metal alloys in memory, which are essential in the metallurgy. He also contributed to the science of chiral compounds by he made it clear how the different species can be distinguished from crystalline racemates and enantiomers behave as in heterogeneous systems of solid and solution.

1911 Bakhuis Roozeboom Foundation was established in his honor, which gives a gold medal for work in the area of the phase rule every four years.