Editing William Lipscomb (section)

===Education===
Lipscomb's high-school chemistry teacher, Frederick Jones, gave Lipscomb his college books on [[organic chemistry|organic]], [[analytical chemistry|analytical]], and [[general chemistry]], and asked only that Lipscomb take the examinations.
During the class lectures, Lipscomb in the back of the classroom did research that he thought was original (but he later found was not): the preparation of [[hydrogen]] from [[sodium formate]] (or [[sodium oxalate]]) and [[sodium hydroxide]].<ref name="HS_Science_Research">{{cite web|url=http://wlipscomb.tripod.com/publications_pubs_high-school.html |title=HighSchool – Publications – Lipscomb |publisher=Wlipscomb.tripod.com |date=1937-02-25 |access-date=2012-02-01}}</ref>
He took care to include gas analyses and to search for probable [[side reaction]]s.

Lipscomb later had a high-school physics course and took first prize in the state contest on that subject.  He also became very interested in [[special relativity]].

Lipscomb attended [[University of Kentucky]] on a music scholarship. Prof. Robert H. Baker suggested that Lipscomb research the direct preparation of derivatives of [[Alcohol (chemistry)|alcohol]]s from dilute [[aqueous solution]] without first separating the alcohol and water, which led to Lipscomb's first publication.<ref name=Lipscomb1942Alcohols/>

For graduate school Lipscomb chose Caltech, which offered him a teaching assistantship in Physics at $20/month.  He turned down more money from [[Northwestern University]], which offered  a research assistantship at $150/month. [[Columbia University]] rejected Lipscomb's application in a letter written by Nobel prizewinner Prof. [[Harold Urey]].

At Caltech Lipscomb intended to study theoretical [[quantum mechanics]] with Prof. [[William Vermillion Houston|W. V. Houston]] in the physics department, but after one semester switched to the chemistry department under the
influence of Prof. Linus Pauling.  World War II work divided Lipscomb's time in graduate school beyond his other thesis work, as he partly analyzed smoke particle size, but mostly worked with [[nitroglycerin]]–[[nitrocellulose]] propellants, which involved handling vials of pure nitroglycerin on many occasions.
Brief audio clips by Lipscomb about his war work may be found from the [[#External links|External Links]] section at the bottom of this page, past the References.

The source for this subsection, except as noted, is Lipscomb's autobiographical sketch.<ref name=InHonorOfWnlStructuresAndMechanisms2002/>

<!--===Later years===

The Colonel is how Lipscomb's students referred to him, directly addressing him as Colonel.  "His first doctoral student, Murray Vernon King, pinned the label on him, and it was quickly adopted by other students, who wanted to use an appellation that showed informal respect.  ... Lipscomb's Kentucky origins as the rationale for the designation."<ref name=Katz2000/>
Some years later in 1973 Lipscomb was made a member of the [[Kentucky colonel|Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels]].<ref name=Hargittai2003/>

Lipscomb, along with several other Nobel laureates, was a regular presenter at the annual [[Ig Nobel Prize|Ig Nobel]] Awards Ceremony, last doing so (in a wheelchair) on September 30, 2010.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIKnFZhCr2k ''The 20th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, September 30, 2010.'']</ref>-->