Three scientists from the United States and Denmark who built the framework for a more practical kind of chemistry were given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday.
The judges awarded Morten Meldal of Denmark, Carolyn Bertozzi, and Barry Sharpless of America “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.”
For 81-year-old Sharpless, who earned the chemistry Nobel in 2001, the honour represents his second Nobel.
Only four other people, including the Frenchwoman Marie Curie who was born in Poland, have accomplished that accomplishment.
The jury stated in a statement that it “is an elegant and efficient chemical reaction that is now in widespread use.”
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At a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the scientist Alfred Nobel’s death in 1896, who established the prizes in his last will and testament, the trio will each receive ten million Swedish kronor ($917,500) as their share of the Nobel Prize. They will be presented with their awards by King Carl XVI Gustaf.
David MacMillan, a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom, and Benjamin List, a scientist from Germany, were recognised by the academy last year for creating asymmetric organocatalysis, a precise method for building molecules.
(with inputs from agencies)
