The 2017 Wolf Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Robert G. Bergman, University of California (UC), Berkeley, USA. Professor Bergman is honored “for the discovery of the activation of C–H bonds of hydrocarbons by soluble transition metal complexes”.
The Wolf Prize has been awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation since 1978 and honors contributions to the sciences and to the arts “in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among people”. It comes with USD 100,000 in prize money. The award was presented during a ceremony at the Knesset in Jerusalem, Israel, on June 11, 2017.
Robert G. Bergman studied chemistry at Carleton College, Northfield, MN, USA, and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, where he received his Ph.D. in 1960 under the supervision of Jerome A. Berson. In 1966 and 1967, he was a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Fellow at Columbia University, New York, USA. He then joined the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA, USA, as a Noyes Research Instructor. He was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1969, to Associate Professor in 1971, and to Full Professor in 1973. Bergman became Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1977. In 2002, he was appointed Gerald E. K. Branch Distinguished Professor at Berkeley.
Bergman’s research interests include the development of new chemical reactions and the study of reactive intermediates, as well as homogeneous catalysis, supramolecular chemistry, and organic synthesis.
Among numerous other honors, Bergman has received the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Organometallic Chemistry in 1986, the ACS Arthur C. Cope Award in 1996, and the ACS James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry in 2003. He is a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Selected Publications
- Rhodium Catalyzed Chelation-Assisted C–H Bond Functionalization Reactions,
Denise A. Colby, Andy S. Tsai, Robert G. Bergman, Jonathan A. Ellman,
Acc. Chem. Res. 2012, 45, 814–825.
DOI: 10.1021/ar200190g - Rhodium-Catalyzed C−C Bond Formation via Heteroatom-Directed C−H Bond Activation,
Denise A. Colby, Robert G. Bergman, Jonathan A. Ellman,
Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 624–655.
DOI: 10.1021/cr900005n - Proton-Mediated Chemistry and Catalysis in a Self-Assembled Supramolecular Host,
Michael D. Pluth, Robert G. Bergman, Kenneth N. Raymond,
Acc. Chem. Res. 2009, 42,1650–1659.
DOI: 10.1021/ar900118t - Direct Functionalization of Nitrogen Heterocycles via Rh-Catalyzed C−H Bond Activation,
Jared C. Lewis, Robert G. Bergman, Jonathan A. Ellman,
Acc. Chem. Res. 2008, 41, 1013–1025.
DOI: 10.1021/ar800042p - Acid Catalysis in Basic Solution: A Supramolecular Host Promotes Orthoformate Hydrolysis,
Michael D. Pluth, Robert G. Bergman, Kenneth N. Raymond,
Science 2007, 316, 85–88.
DOI: 10.1126/science.1138748 - Organometallic chemistry: C–H activation,
Robert G. Bergman,
Nature 2007, 446, 391–393.
DOI: 10.1038/446391a
Also of Interest
- Reproducibility in Chemical Research,
ChemViews Mag. 2016.
Deliberate falsification of data is rare; researchers should be aware of the dangers of unconscious investigator bias, editorial in Angewandte Chemie by Robert G. Bergman and Rick L. Danheiser - 2016 Wolf Prize in Chemistry,
ChemViews Mag. 2016.
K. C. Nicolaou and Stuart L. Schreiber honored
