WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2021 — On behalf of the American Chemical Society (ACS), President H. N. Cheng, Ph.D., congratulates today’s winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Benjamin List, Ph.D., Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (Germany) and David W.C. MacMillan, Ph.D., Princeton University. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the prize “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.”
“Asymmetric organocatalysis offers a new way of thinking and a more sustainable way of carrying out crucial chemical reactions,” says Cheng. “In the big picture, the ability to create new compounds to address human problems is the strength of chemistry. Chemists are like magicians, and with asymmetric organocatalysis, we have a new magic wand for making important drugs.”
List has been a member of ACS for 21 years. He is the winner of the Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods for 2022, which is sponsored by the Purdue Borane Research Fund and the Herbert C. Brown Award Endowment. In addition, he won the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award in 2014, which is currently sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund.
MacMillan has been a member of ACS for 26 years. He won the ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry in 2011, which is currently sponsored by MilliporeSigma; the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award in 2007, which is currently sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund; the Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis by a Young Investigator in 2005, which is currently sponsored by the Pfizer Endowment Fund; and the Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis in 2018, which is currently sponsored by the Gabor A. and Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund.
Both of the winners have published articles in some of ACS’ more than 65 peer-reviewed journals. In addition, news articles on the work have appeared in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS’ weekly newsmagazine. Articles are available from the contacts below.
News media can arrange telephone interviews with Cheng or other experts in the field by calling or emailing ACS at the contact information below. In addition, C&EN’s podcast Stereo Chemistry will publish a bonus episode about the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
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The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS’ mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and all its people. The Society is a global leader in promoting excellence in science education and providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a leader in scientific information solutions, its CAS division partners with global innovators to accelerate breakthroughs by curating, connecting and analyzing the world’s scientific knowledge. ACS’ main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
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