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Synthesis

Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis: David W. C. MacMillan

January 8, 2018 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 96, Issue 2

MacMillan
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Photo of David MacMillan.

Sponsor: Gabor A. & Judith K. Somorjai Endowment Fund

Citation: For his pioneering work in the development of organocatalysis, including fundamentally new methods based on radical intermediates, SOMO catalysis, and photoredox catalysis.

Current position: James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry and chair of the department of chemistry, Princeton University

Education: B.Sc., chemistry, University of Glasgow; Ph.D., organic chemistry, University of California, Irvine

MacMillan on what gets his creative juices flowing: “An unusual result, a key insight, or a new understanding of a chemical concept that you have found in the lab. It’s like finding a hidden trap door in the back of an attic and when you look down inside—it’s full of gold (or even wine). It’s a great feeling when it happens, and I only wish it would happen more often.”

What his colleagues say: “Organocatalysis has become the single most published-on field of catalysis in the world. Moreover, primarily due to MacMillan’s contributions, practical applications on large scale have begun to emerge. Further, a second field that he invented, photoredox catalysis, has the promise to be even more important than organocatalysis. MacMillan’s work has been carried out with an exceptional level of scholarship, focusing on what is important and conceptually innovative. His work has been and will continue to be used by others.”—Stephen L. Buchwald, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Please send announcements of awards to l_wang@acs.org.



ACS Award for Computers in Chemical & Pharmaceutical Research: Jürgen Bajorath

ACS Award in Surface Chemistry: Stacey F. Bent

ACS Award for Team Innovation: Vladimir G. Beylin, Brian P. Chekal, Nga M. Do, David W. Fry, Nathan D. Ide, Brian P. Jones, Peter L. Toogood, and Hairong (Angela) Zhou

ACS Award for Achievement in Research for the Teaching & Learning of Chemistry: George M. Bodner

F. Albert Cotton Award in Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry: A. S. Borovik

E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry: Linda J. Broadbelt

James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry: Cynthia J. Burrows

Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry: Alison Butler

ACS Award in Theoretical Chemistry: Emily A. Carter

ACS Award in Pure Chemistry: Mircea Dincă

Award for Volunteer Service to the American Chemical Society: Carol A. Duane

Earle B. Barnes Award for Leadership in Chemical Research Management: Margaret M. Faul

Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics: George W. Flynn

Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods: Gregory C. Fu

Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry: Lila M. Gierasch

ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry: Michael L. Gross

ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry: Frank Gupton and D. Tyler McQuade

ACS Award in Applied Polymer Science: Paula T. Hammond

George & Christine Sosnovsky Award for Cancer Research: Paul J. Hergenrother

Elias J. Corey Award for Outstanding Original Contribution in Organic Synthesis by a Young Investigator: Seth B. Herzon

Frederic Stanley Kipping Award in Silicon Chemistry: Tamejiro Hiyama

ACS Award for Encouraging Disadvantaged Students into Careers in the Chemical Sciences: Jani C. Ingram

ACS Award for Creative Invention: Robert S. Kania

ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry: Erhard Kemnitz

James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching: Brian J. Kennedy

ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry: Clifford P. Kubiak

Francis P. Garvan-John M. Olin Medal: Valerie J. Kuck

ACS Award in Industrial Chemistry: George P. Lahm

Alfred Burger Award in Medicinal Chemistry: Dennis C. Liotta

Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry: David R. Liu

Gabor A. Somorjai Award for Creative Research in Catalysis: David W. C. MacMillan

National Fresenius Award: Thomas J. Maimone

Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success: Javier García-Martínez

ACS Award in Inorganic Chemistry: James M. Mayer

ACS Award in Separations Science & Technology: Massimo Morbidelli

George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry: Oliver C. Mullins

ACS Award in Chromatography: Janusz B. Pawliszyn

ACS Award for Research at an Undergraduate Institution: Joseph J. Pesek

Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry: Paras N. Prasad

Joel Henry Hildebrand Award in the Theoretical & Experimental Chemistry of Liquids: Lawrence R. Pratt

ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry: Thomas B. Rauchfuss

ACS Award in the Chemistry of Materials: Elsa Reichmanis

Frank H. Field & Joe L. Franklin Award for Outstanding Achievement in Mass Spectrometry: Carol V. Robinson

ACS Award for Encouraging Women into Careers in the Chemical Sciences: Rebecca T. Ruck

Josef Michl ACS Award in Photochemistry: Jack Saltiel

E. Bright Wilson Award in Spectroscopy: Richard J. Saykally

Harry Gray Award for Creative Work in Inorganic Chemistry by a Young Investigator: Dwight S. Seferos

James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public: Bassam Z. Shakhashiri

Glenn T. Seaborg Award for Nuclear Chemistry: Suresh C. Srivastava

ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry: Brian M. Stoltz

ACS Award for Creative Advances in Environmental Science & Technology: Barbara J. Turpin

George C. Pimentel Award in Chemical Education: Pratibha Varma-Nelson

ACS Award in Colloid Chemistry: Håkan Wennerström

Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products: David R. Williams

ACS Award in Polymer Chemistry: C. Grant Willson

Ahmed Zewail Award in Ultrafast Science & Technology: Xiaoyang Zhu

Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry: Aleksandr V. Zhukhovitskiy (student) and Jeremiah A. Johnson (preceptor)

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