Eric Niels Jacobsen
Born (1960-02-22) February 22, 1960 (age 64)
New York City, New York
Alma materNew York University
University of California, Berkeley
Known forJacobsen epoxidation
Hydrogen-bond catalysis
AwardsBristol-DTC-Syngenta Award, Remsen Award, Fannie–Cox Teaching Award, Harvard University
Scientific career
FieldsChemistry
InstitutionsHarvard University
ThesisSynthesis and Reactions of Dinuclear Transition Metal Complexes Containing Bridging Ligands Relevant to Heterogeneous Catalysis (1986)
Doctoral advisorRobert G. Bergman
Other academic advisorsKarl Barry Sharpless
Yorke E. Rhodes
Doctoral students
Other notable studentsPost-docs:

Eric N. Jacobsen (born February 22, 1960, in New York City, New York) is the Sheldon Emery Professor of Chemistry and former chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University. He is a prominent figure in the field of organic chemistry and is best known for the development of the Jacobsen epoxidation and other work in selective catalysis.

Early life and education

Jacobsen was born on February 22, 1960, in New York City.[1] Jacobsen attended New York University for his undergraduate studies, graduating with his B.S. in 1982. He attended the University of California, Berkeley for graduate school, earning his Ph.D. in 1986 under the tutelage of Robert G. Bergman. He subsequently joined the laboratory of Barry Sharpless, then at MIT, as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow. He began his independent career as an assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988. In 1993 he moved to Harvard as a full professor.

Notable contributions

Jacobsen has developed catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation, hydrolytic kinetic resolution and desymmetrization of epoxides, asymmetric pericyclic reactions, and asymmetric additions to imines.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Eric N. Jacobsen". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 55 (30): 8482–8484. 2016. doi:10.1002/anie.201602433. ISSN 1521-3773.
  2. ^ "Ira Remsen Award". Maryland Section. 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 November 2018.