Jay Kochi (1927-2008) was a physical organic chemist whose research examined the interactions of electron donors and acceptors. He received his B. S. at the University of California in 1949 and his Ph.D. at Iowa State University, 1952. For most of his career, he was located at Indiana University and then at the University of Houston, where he was Welch Professor.
Useful reactions in organic chemistry were shown by Kochi to proceed via the formation of a donor-acceptor complex. One example is the nitration of benzene to give nitrobenzene. Kochi's work showed that such reactions proceed via a complex between benzene (the donor) and nitrosonium ion (the acceptor).[1] He also contributed to many aspects of organometallic chemistry.
Kochi received many awards for his research, including election to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.