German scientist Benjamin List and Scotland-born David McMillan share chemistry nobel prize
- ByManjeet Singh | October 7, 2021
The chemistry Nobel Prize went to the Max Planck Institute’s Benjamin List and Princeton University’s David WC MacMillan.
The winners were recognized for their work on developing asymmetric organocatalysis, a new method for constructing molecules. The winners were announced by Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
Both List and MacMillan developed a new catalysis system independently in 2000, according to the Nobel panel.
“It’s already benefiting humankind greatly,” Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, a member of the Nobel panel, said.
Mr List said the award was a “huge surprise.” “I didn’t expect it,” he said, adding that he was on vacation with his family in Amsterdam when the call came in.
According to Mr List, he was unaware that Mr MacMillan was also pursuing the same topic and thought his hunch might be just a “stupid idea” until it came true.
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