Gilbert Stork (1921 – 2017)

Gilbert Stork (1921 – 2017)

Author: ChemViews Magazine

Gilbert Stork, Eugene Higgins Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at Columbia University, New York, USA, passed away end of October 2017.

Gilbert Stork’s research focussed on the total synthesis of natural products. In his long career, Stork has accomplished the total syntheses of cincholoipon, cantharidin, and reserpine, among other targets. He has also contributed to the development of synthetic methodology, including the Stork enamine reaction.

Gilbert Stork, born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1921, gained his B.S. from University of Florida, USA, in 1942, and his Ph.D. from University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, in 1945. In 1946, he became Instructor at Harvard University, and in 1948 Assistant Professor at the same university. In 1953, he became Associate and 1955 Professor at Columbia University, USA. From 1967 to 1993, Storck was Eugene Higgins Professor there.

Among many honors, Gilbert Storck received the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry in 1957, the NAS Award in Chemical Sciences in 1982, the National Medal of Science in 1982, the Wolf Prize in 1996, and the Ryoji Noyori Prize in 2003.

Jeffrey I. Seeman, University of Richmond, USA, has assembled a series of quotes and pictures that give snapshots about Stork’s life and illustrate his personal qualities in an article published in Angewandte Chemie.


Selected Publications

 

Leave a Reply

Kindly review our community guidelines before leaving a comment.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *