(hûrsh´b k) (KEY) , 1932–, American chemist, b. San Jose, Calif., Ph.D. Harvard, 1958. In 1986, Herschbach shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi for helping to apply the technology and theory of physics to chemistry. Herschbach invented the “crossed molecular beam technique,” which allows for the detailed analysis of chemical reactions through the use of supersonic molecular beams.
