Contents
Karl Barry Sharpless
Developing selective chemical reactions and click chemistry, earning two chemistry Nobel Prizes.
Asymmetric epoxidation · Click chemistry
- Born
- 28 April 1941
- Birthplace
- Philadelphia, United States
More people
Karl Barry Sharpless
K. Barry Sharpless is an American chemist whose methods help researchers build molecules more reliably.
Early life
Early interests
Spent childhood summers fishing in New Jersey.
Chemistry training
Studied at Dartmouth and completed a Stanford doctorate in 1968.
Career
- 1970
MIT appointment
Started his independent academic career.
- 1990
Scripps move
Joined the California research institute.
- 2022
Second Nobel
Shared the chemistry prize after his first award in 2001.
Contributions
Asymmetric epoxidation
Developed a method for controlling molecular handedness.
Click chemistry
Proposed efficient reactions for joining molecular building blocks.
Copper-catalysed coupling
Developed a key click reaction independently of Morten Meldal.
Beyond the lab
Laboratory safety
Losing sight in one eye in a lab accident made him an advocate for protective glasses.
Life outside chemistry
Has maintained a lifelong interest in fishing.
Sources & photo credit
Biography and career ↗Further source ↗Identity and date cross-check ↗Photo: Cmichel67. CC BY-SA 4.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
