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Polanyi was born into the prominent Hungarian Polányi (Pollacsek) family in Berlin, Germany, prior to his family emigrating in 1933 to the United Kingdom where he was subsequently educated at the University of Manchester, achieving his Ph.D in 1952, and did postdoctoral research at the National Research Council in Canada (1952-1954) and Princeton University in New Jersey (1954-1956). Polanyi's first academic appointment was at the University of Toronto in 1956, and he remains there as of 2025 as University Professor Emeritus.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Polanyi has received numerous other awards, including 33 honorary degrees, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering. Outside his scientific pursuits, Polanyi is active in public policy discussion, especially concerning science and nuclear weapons. According to György Marx, he was one of "The Martians", a group of prominent Hungarian scientists who emigrated to the United States in the first half of the 20th century.
Early years
His father, Mihály (Michael), was a chemist, philosopher of science, and economist; his uncle Károly (Karl) was an economic historian. Michael was born Jewish and converted to Catholicism. He moved from Germany to Britain in 1933, partly as a result of the persecution of Jews under Adolf Hitler. During World War II, Polanyi's father sent him to Canada for three years when he was 11, so he would be safe from German bombings. While living in Toronto, he attended the University of Toronto Schools. After returning to Britain, Polanyi finished high school and attended university at Manchester, where he received his undergraduate degree in 1949 and his PhD in 1952. Although his university education was focused in science, he was not convinced it was his calling after finishing high school, when he briefly considered a career as a poet. His father, Michael Polanyi, was a professor in the chemistry department during his first year of university, before transferring to a newly created position in the social studies department. Polanyi's supervisor during his graduate studies was Ernest Warhurst, a former student of his father's. After completing his PhD studies, Polanyi did postdoctoral research at the National Research Council in Ottawa, Ontario from 1952 until 1954, where he worked with Edgar William Richard Steacie. From 1954 until 1956, he was a research associate at Princeton University.
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Academic posts
John Polanyi started at the University of Toronto as a lecturer in 1956. He moved up the ranks quickly at the university, being promoted to assistant professor in 1957, associate professor in 1960 and becoming a full professor in 1962. In 1974, he was named University Professor, an honorary title he has retained since.
Research interests
Polanyi's PhD studies at Manchester University focused on measuring the strengths of chemical bonds using thermal dissociation, building on Warhurst's graduate studies using a sodium flame apparatus to determine the likelihood that a collision between a sodium atom and another molecule would lead to a chemical reaction. For the majority of his career, Polanyi's research has focused on chemical dynamics, attempting to determine the mechanics of a chemical reaction, and the properties of chemical species in the transition state. While at the National Research Council (NRC), Polanyi evaluated transition state theory for its predictive powers, coming to the conclusion that the theory was flawed, largely due to a lack of knowledge about the forces at play in the transition state. Near the end of his stay at NRC, Polanyi worked in Gerhard Herzberg's lab, using spectroscopy to examine vibrational and rotational excitation in iodine molecules. During Polanyi's time at Princeton University, he worked with Sir Hugh Taylor and his colleagues, Michael Boudart and David Garvin. He was influenced by studies conducted at Princeton looking at the vibrationally excited reaction products between atomic hydrogen and ozone.
When Polanyi moved to the University of Toronto, his first graduate students were looking for enhanced reaction rates with vibrationally excited hydrogen, as well as looking for the presence of vibrationally excited hydrogen chloride during the exothermic reaction of molecular chlorine with atomic hydrogen. Graduate student Kenneth Cashion was working with Polanyi when they made their first discoveries about chemiluminescence, the light emitted by an atom molecule when it is in an excited state. This work was first published in 1958.
In 2009, Polanyi and his colleagues published a paper in Nature Chemistry, entitled "Cooperative molecular dynamics in surface reactions." This more recent research could be influential in nanotechnology, building devices from single atoms and molecules. Polanyi's work still focuses on the basic workings of chemical reactions, but since his Nobel Prize win in 1986, his methods have changed. While in Sweden for the award ceremony, he encountered the three scientists who were awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physics, who were honoured for their work in electron optics and scanning tunneling microscopy. This technology allowed Polanyi and his colleagues to monitor chemical reactions on a very small scale, rather than observing the energy being released using infrared technology. His lab at the University of Toronto currently has 4 scanning tunneling microscopes, valued at approximately $750,000 each.
In addition to his scientific pursuits, Polanyi has also always been keenly aware of the world at large. As a student, he edited a newspaper and displayed an interest in politics. Although his father was a scientist, he did not demonstrate an immediate affinity for chemistry. Beginning in the 1950s, Polanyi became involved in public affairs, especially concerning nuclear weapons. He founded Canada's Pugwash group in 1960, and served as the chairman for the group from its inception until 1978. Pugwash is a global movement that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. Their goal is to reduce armed conflict and seek solutions to global problems. He has also been a supporter of "pure" science, and a critic of government policies that do not support such research. He is also a supporter of the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system. Polanyi often accepts speaking engagements to discuss issues relating to social justice, peace and nuclear proliferation, despite his busy research schedule. He frequently comments on science and public policy issues via the Letters to the Editor and Opinion sections of The Globe and Mail newspaper. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the research arm of Council for a Livable World.
Personal life
Polanyi was born in 1929 to Michael and Magda Elizabeth Kemény Polanyi in Berlin, Germany. His father was born in 1891, in Hungary. His uncle Karl was an economist, noted for his criticism of market capitalism. His brother George was noted for his defence of market capitalism. His paternal grandfather, Mihaly Pollacsek, built railways. Mihaly Pollacsek Magyarised the family's name to Polanyi, but did not change his own name. The Polanyi's were non-observant Jews, although Michael Polanyi became a Christian.
In 1958, Polanyi married Anne Ferrar Davidson (1929–2013). He has two children – a daughter, Margaret, born in 1961 and a son, Michael, born in 1963. His daughter is a journalist, and his son is a political scientist who started his career as a physicist. Polanyi is currently married to portrait artist Brenda Bury. Outside his scientific and policy endeavours, Polanyi's interests include art, literature and poetry. He was an avid white water canoeist in his younger days, but has replaced that with walking and skiing.