Richard R. Schrock

Facts

Richard R. Schrock

Photo: L.B. Hetherington

Richard R. Schrock
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2005

Born: 4 January 1945, Berne, IN, USA

Affiliation at the time of the award: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, USA

Prize motivation: "for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis."

Prize share: 1/3

Work

Organic substances - a multitude of chemical compounds that contain the element carbon - are the basis of all life. Metathesis is an important type of chemical reaction in assembling or synthesizing organic substances. In metathesis double bonds between carbon atoms are broken and reorganized at the same time as atomic groups change place. In 1990 Richard Schrock succeeded in producing a metallic compound that effectively facilitates metathesis. Metathesis has enabled more effective and environmentally sound processes in industry.

To cite this section
MLA style: Richard R. Schrock – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Mon. 3 Aug 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2005/schrock/facts/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Learn more

Nobel Prizes 2019

Fifteen laureates were awarded in 2019, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Their work and discoveries range from how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen to our ability to fight global poverty.

See them all presented here.
2019 Nobel Laureates

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.