Robert H. Grubbs
Encyclopedia
Robert Howard Grubbs (b. 27 February 1942 near Possum Trot, Kentucky
) is an American chemist
and Nobel laureate.
As he noted in his official Nobel Prize autobiography, "In some places, my birthplace is listed as Calvert City
and in others Possum Trot [NB: both in Marshall County]. I was actually born between the two, so no one really is correct." He spent his early childhood in Marshall County and attended public school at McKinley Elementary, Franklin Junior High and Paducah Tilghman High School
in Paducah, Kentucky
. Grubbs studied chemistry at the University of Florida
(B.S. and M.S.), where he worked with Merle Battiste, and Columbia University
, where he obtained his Ph.D. under Ronald Breslow
in 1968.
He next spent a year with James Collman at Stanford University
. He was then appointed to the faculty of Michigan State University
. In 1978 he moved to California Institute of Technology
where he is presently Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry.
His main interests in organometallic chemistry
and synthetic chemistry
are catalysts, notably Grubbs' catalyst
for olefin metathesis
and ring-opening metathesis polymerization with cyclic olefins such as norbornene
. He also contributed to the development of so-called "living polymerization
".
Grubbs's many awards have included: Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1974–76), Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1975–78), Alexander von Humboldt
Fellowship (1975), ACS Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry (2000), ACS Herman F. Mark Polymer Chemistry Award (2000), ACS Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods (2001), the Tolman Medal (2002), and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
(2005). He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
in 1989 and a fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1994.
Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
, along with Richard R. Schrock
and Yves Chauvin
, for his work in the field of olefin metathesis
.
Grubbs is married to Helen Grubbs (née O'Kane), a retired SLP
elementary school teacher, with three children—all of whom have earned a PhD or an M.D.
In Oct 2010 Grubbs participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival
's Lunch with a Laureate program where middle and high school students got to engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize winning Scientist over a brown bag lunch. He is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
's Advisory Board.
Possum Trot, Kentucky
Possum Trot is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. Possum Trot is located on Highway 62 between Paducah and Calvert City in the Jackson Purchase region of Western Kentucky....
) is an American chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and Nobel laureate.
As he noted in his official Nobel Prize autobiography, "In some places, my birthplace is listed as Calvert City
Calvert City, Kentucky
Calvert City is a city in Marshall County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,701 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Calvert City is located at ....
and in others Possum Trot [NB: both in Marshall County]. I was actually born between the two, so no one really is correct." He spent his early childhood in Marshall County and attended public school at McKinley Elementary, Franklin Junior High and Paducah Tilghman High School
Paducah Tilghman High School
Paducah Tilghman High School is a public secondary school in Paducah, Kentucky, and is the only high school of the Paducah Independent School District....
in Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah, Kentucky
Paducah is the largest city in Kentucky's Jackson Purchase Region and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. It is located at the confluence of the Tennessee River and the Ohio River, halfway between the metropolitan areas of St. Louis, Missouri, to the west and Nashville,...
. Grubbs studied chemistry at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
(B.S. and M.S.), where he worked with Merle Battiste, and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, where he obtained his Ph.D. under Ronald Breslow
Ronald Breslow
Ronald C. D. Breslow is an American chemist from Rahway, New Jersey. He is currently University Professor at Columbia University, where he is based in the Department of Chemistry and affiliated with the Departments of Biological Sciences and Pharmacology; he has also been on the faculty of its...
in 1968.
He next spent a year with James Collman at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. He was then appointed to the faculty of Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. In 1978 he moved to California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
where he is presently Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry.
His main interests in organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry
Organometallic chemistry is the study of chemical compounds containing bonds between carbon and a metal. Since many compounds without such bonds are chemically similar, an alternative may be compounds containing metal-element bonds of a largely covalent character...
and synthetic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
are catalysts, notably Grubbs' catalyst
Grubbs' catalyst
Grubbs' Catalyst is a transition metal carbene complex named after Robert H. Grubbs, the chemist who first synthesized it. There are two generations of the catalyst, as shown on the right. In contrast to other olefin metathesis catalysts, Grubbs' Catalysts tolerate other functional groups in the...
for olefin metathesis
Olefin metathesis
Olefin metathesis or transalkylidenation is an organic reaction that entails redistribution of alkylene fragments by the scission of carbon - carbon double bonds in olefins . Its advantages include the creation of fewer sideproducts and hazardous wastes. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Richard R...
and ring-opening metathesis polymerization with cyclic olefins such as norbornene
Norbornene
Norbornene or norbornylene or norcamphene is a bridged cyclic hydrocarbon. It is a white solid with a pungent sour odor. The molecule consists of a cyclohexene ring bridged with a methylene group in the para position...
. He also contributed to the development of so-called "living polymerization
Living polymerization
In polymer chemistry, living polymerization is a form of addition polymerization where the ability of a growing polymer chain to terminate has been removed. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. Chain termination and chain transfer reactions are absent and the rate of chain initiation is...
".
Grubbs's many awards have included: Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1974–76), Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1975–78), Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
Fellowship (1975), ACS Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry (2000), ACS Herman F. Mark Polymer Chemistry Award (2000), ACS Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods (2001), the Tolman Medal (2002), and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
(2005). He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
in 1989 and a fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1994.
Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
, along with Richard R. Schrock
Richard R. Schrock
Richard Royce Schrock is an American chemist and Nobel laureate recognized for his contributions to the metathesis reaction used in organic chemistry.-Biography:...
and Yves Chauvin
Yves Chauvin
Yves Chauvin is a French chemist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is honorary research director at the Institut français du pétrole and a member of the French Academy of Science. Chauvin received his degree from the Lyon School of Chemistry, Physics and Electronics in 1954.He was awarded the 2005...
, for his work in the field of olefin metathesis
Olefin metathesis
Olefin metathesis or transalkylidenation is an organic reaction that entails redistribution of alkylene fragments by the scission of carbon - carbon double bonds in olefins . Its advantages include the creation of fewer sideproducts and hazardous wastes. Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, and Richard R...
.
Grubbs is married to Helen Grubbs (née O'Kane), a retired SLP
Speech and language pathology
Speech-Language Pathology specializes in communication disorders.The main components of speech production include: phonation, the process of sound production; resonance, opening and closing of the vocal folds; intonation, the variation of pitch; and voice, including aeromechanical components of...
elementary school teacher, with three children—all of whom have earned a PhD or an M.D.
In Oct 2010 Grubbs participated in the USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival was a science festival in Washington, D.C. that founder Larry Book deemed the country’s first national science festival. The inaugural event was held from October 10, 2010 through October 24, 2010 and was planned to be a yearly event. The two week festival...
's Lunch with a Laureate program where middle and high school students got to engage in an informal conversation with a Nobel Prize winning Scientist over a brown bag lunch. He is also a member of the USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival
USA Science and Engineering Festival was a science festival in Washington, D.C. that founder Larry Book deemed the country’s first national science festival. The inaugural event was held from October 10, 2010 through October 24, 2010 and was planned to be a yearly event. The two week festival...
's Advisory Board.
External links
- Bibliographic Resources--Metathesis Method in Organic Synthesis, from the Office of Scientific and Technical InformationOffice of Scientific and Technical InformationThe Office of Scientific and Technical Information is a component of the Office of Science within the U.S. Department of Energy...
, United States Department of EnergyUnited States Department of EnergyThe United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material... - Web page at Caltech
- Chemistry laureates 2005 site
- Autobiography at Nobel Chemistry Laureates site
- Nobel Prize Lecture
- Biography @ University of Missouri-St. Louis
- Thomson prediction Nobel prize 2005
- Robert H Grubbs U.S. Patents
- Materia Inc. The Company that sells and develops the technology.