Rudolph A. Marcus, Noyes Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, was born in Montreal, Canada in 1923. He received a B.Sc. (1943) and Ph.D. (1946) from McGill University (experiment, Carl Winkler), followed by postdoctoral research with Edgar Steacie (experiment) and Oscar Rice (theory). He joined the faculty of the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1951-64), the University of Illinois( (1964-78), and Caltech as Noyes Professor (1978- ).

The "Marcus theory" of electron transfer processes and the RRKM theory of unimolecular reactions continue to be the standard theories in their fields. His pioneering contributions in other areas include "mass-independent" isotope effects in stratospheric ozone and theoretical areas such as semiclassical collision theory, reaction coordinate Hamiltonians and vibrationally adiabatic reactions. The electron transfer theory has been applied to numerous fields and extended to atom, proton, and group transfers. His research is characterized by a strong interaction between theory and experiment and currently includes fluorescence intermittency of nanoparticles, single-molecule/ensemble studies of enzymes, “on water” organic reactions, and unusual isotope effects in reactions.

His awards include the National Medal of Science (1989), the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1985), and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1992). He is a foreign or honorary member of many societies, including the Royal Society of London and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is a Distinguished Affiliated Professor of the Technical University of Munich and a Visiting Nanyang Professor at the Nanyang Technological University .He  serves as a member of the Advisory Panel of the Institute of Advanced Studies in Singapore.