Gilbert Stork, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Columbia University, died on October 21, 2017 in New York City. He was 95. He was a pioneer in the field of organic synthesis and renowned for his seminal contributions to synthetic methodology and the field of total synthesis of natural products.
Most organic molecules in nature are chains of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in which the sequence and orientation of the atoms give the molecule a specific three-dimensional shape. In 1951 Stork was the first chemist to carry out a planned synthesis of the correct three-dimensional form of a complex natural product. For seven decades, Stork developed and applied his new methods to synthesize members of virtually every class of biologically active natural products including antibiotics, alkaloids, steroids and prostaglandins. His approaches have become today's standards for organic synthesis and thus key concepts for drug development in the pharmaceutical industry.
Beyond his accomplishments in synthesis, Stork was also a passionate mentor. At Columbia, he trained more than 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Regardless of their career paths, students carried with them a way of thinking and looking at problems that was shaped by their time with Stork.
After emigrating from France, Stork attended the University of Florida, earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin (1945), spent about a year in industry, and then moved to Harvard University in 1946. He joined Columbia University's Department of Chemistry in 1953 and remained there until his death.
He received the National Medal of Science from President Reagan in 1983, and more than 30 other major awards, beginning in the 1950s with the Award in Pure Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Over many decades, he was recognized with the Arthur C. Cope Award, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences, the Tetrahedron Prize, the American Chemical Society Roger Adams Award, the Robert Welch Award, the Wolf Prize, and the Barton Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; he held honorary memberships in the French Académie des Sciences, The Royal Society (UK), and the Chemical Society of Japan. During his 72-year career, he presented more than 200 Special Lectures around the world and published 245 scientific papers.
Stork's last paper was published two weeks before he died. It describes the synthesis of germine, one of the most complex molecular syntheses ever attempted by organic chemists. Work on germine began in 1979, and 15 students worked on the project through the year 2000. In 2010, Gilbert and his wife, Ayako, decided that this would be a good retirement project. Working together at Columbia, they completed the synthesis – a gift to each other and to all of Stork's students.
Gilbert was predeceased by his first wife, Winifred, and his daughter, Janet. He is survived by Ayako, his sister Monique, his daughters Diana and Linda, his son Philip, and five grandchildren.
Published on NYTimes.com from 28 Nov 2017
Most organic molecules in nature are chains of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in which the sequence and orientation of the atoms give the molecule a specific three-dimensional shape. In 1951 Stork was the first chemist to carry out a planned synthesis of the correct three-dimensional form of a complex natural product. For seven decades, Stork developed and applied his new methods to synthesize members of virtually every class of biologically active natural products including antibiotics, alkaloids, steroids and prostaglandins. His approaches have become today's standards for organic synthesis and thus key concepts for drug development in the pharmaceutical industry.
Beyond his accomplishments in synthesis, Stork was also a passionate mentor. At Columbia, he trained more than 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Regardless of their career paths, students carried with them a way of thinking and looking at problems that was shaped by their time with Stork.
After emigrating from France, Stork attended the University of Florida, earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin (1945), spent about a year in industry, and then moved to Harvard University in 1946. He joined Columbia University's Department of Chemistry in 1953 and remained there until his death.
He received the National Medal of Science from President Reagan in 1983, and more than 30 other major awards, beginning in the 1950s with the Award in Pure Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Over many decades, he was recognized with the Arthur C. Cope Award, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences, the Tetrahedron Prize, the American Chemical Society Roger Adams Award, the Robert Welch Award, the Wolf Prize, and the Barton Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; he held honorary memberships in the French Académie des Sciences, The Royal Society (UK), and the Chemical Society of Japan. During his 72-year career, he presented more than 200 Special Lectures around the world and published 245 scientific papers.
Stork's last paper was published two weeks before he died. It describes the synthesis of germine, one of the most complex molecular syntheses ever attempted by organic chemists. Work on germine began in 1979, and 15 students worked on the project through the year 2000. In 2010, Gilbert and his wife, Ayako, decided that this would be a good retirement project. Working together at Columbia, they completed the synthesis – a gift to each other and to all of Stork's students.
Gilbert was predeceased by his first wife, Winifred, and his daughter, Janet. He is survived by Ayako, his sister Monique, his daughters Diana and Linda, his son Philip, and five grandchildren.
Published on NYTimes.com from 28 Nov 2017
Gilbert Stork, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Columbia University, died on October 21, 2017 in New York City. He was 95. He was a pioneer in the field of organic synthesis and renowned for his seminal contributions to synthetic methodology and the field of total synthesis of natural products.
Most organic molecules in nature are chains of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in which the sequence and orientation of the atoms give the molecule a specific three-dimensional shape. In 1951 Stork was the first chemist to carry out a planned synthesis of the correct three-dimensional form of a complex natural product. For seven decades, Stork developed and applied his new methods to synthesize members of virtually every class of biologically active natural products including antibiotics, alkaloids, steroids and prostaglandins. His approaches have become today's standards for organic synthesis and thus key concepts for drug development in the pharmaceutical industry.
Beyond his accomplishments in synthesis, Stork was also a passionate mentor. At Columbia, he trained more than 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Regardless of their career paths, students carried with them a way of thinking and looking at problems that was shaped by their time with Stork.
After emigrating from France, Stork attended the University of Florida, earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin (1945), spent about a year in industry, and then moved to Harvard University in 1946. He joined Columbia University's Department of Chemistry in 1953 and remained there until his death.
He received the National Medal of Science from President Reagan in 1983, and more than 30 other major awards, beginning in the 1950s with the Award in Pure Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Over many decades, he was recognized with the Arthur C. Cope Award, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences, the Tetrahedron Prize, the American Chemical Society Roger Adams Award, the Robert Welch Award, the Wolf Prize, and the Barton Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; he held honorary memberships in the French Académie des Sciences, The Royal Society (UK), and the Chemical Society of Japan. During his 72-year career, he presented more than 200 Special Lectures around the world and published 245 scientific papers.
Stork's last paper was published two weeks before he died. It describes the synthesis of germine, one of the most complex molecular syntheses ever attempted by organic chemists. Work on germine began in 1979, and 15 students worked on the project through the year 2000. In 2010, Gilbert and his wife, Ayako, decided that this would be a good retirement project. Working together at Columbia, they completed the synthesis – a gift to each other and to all of Stork's students.
Gilbert was predeceased by his first wife, Winifred, and his daughter, Janet. He is survived by Ayako, his sister Monique, his daughters Diana and Linda, his son Philip, and five grandchildren.
Published on NYTimes.com from 28 Nov 2017
Most organic molecules in nature are chains of carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms in which the sequence and orientation of the atoms give the molecule a specific three-dimensional shape. In 1951 Stork was the first chemist to carry out a planned synthesis of the correct three-dimensional form of a complex natural product. For seven decades, Stork developed and applied his new methods to synthesize members of virtually every class of biologically active natural products including antibiotics, alkaloids, steroids and prostaglandins. His approaches have become today's standards for organic synthesis and thus key concepts for drug development in the pharmaceutical industry.
Beyond his accomplishments in synthesis, Stork was also a passionate mentor. At Columbia, he trained more than 400 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Regardless of their career paths, students carried with them a way of thinking and looking at problems that was shaped by their time with Stork.
After emigrating from France, Stork attended the University of Florida, earned a PhD at the University of Wisconsin (1945), spent about a year in industry, and then moved to Harvard University in 1946. He joined Columbia University's Department of Chemistry in 1953 and remained there until his death.
He received the National Medal of Science from President Reagan in 1983, and more than 30 other major awards, beginning in the 1950s with the Award in Pure Chemistry of the American Chemical Society. Over many decades, he was recognized with the Arthur C. Cope Award, the National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences, the Tetrahedron Prize, the American Chemical Society Roger Adams Award, the Robert Welch Award, the Wolf Prize, and the Barton Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; he held honorary memberships in the French Académie des Sciences, The Royal Society (UK), and the Chemical Society of Japan. During his 72-year career, he presented more than 200 Special Lectures around the world and published 245 scientific papers.
Stork's last paper was published two weeks before he died. It describes the synthesis of germine, one of the most complex molecular syntheses ever attempted by organic chemists. Work on germine began in 1979, and 15 students worked on the project through the year 2000. In 2010, Gilbert and his wife, Ayako, decided that this would be a good retirement project. Working together at Columbia, they completed the synthesis – a gift to each other and to all of Stork's students.
Gilbert was predeceased by his first wife, Winifred, and his daughter, Janet. He is survived by Ayako, his sister Monique, his daughters Diana and Linda, his son Philip, and five grandchildren.
Published on NYTimes.com from 28 Nov 2017
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