Submitted by Kyle Grice / DePaul University on Wed, 10/10/2012 - 00:30
Forums

Hello Ionic,

This is a little off topic, but I thought I would put it in this forum.

I was wondering if anyone had any predictions for who will win the Nobel prize tomorrow morning (I'm thinking not a solid-state or bio person/people this year because of several in the last 10 years... crossing my fingers for something inorganic-related)? 

Also, what living inorganic chemists do you think deserve the nobel prize (and for what research accomplishments)?

Maggie Geselbracht / Reed College

So much for inorganic-related this year!  :-)  In preparing for Gen Chem this morning, I always like to give a shout-out to the Nobel Prize winner, I put together a Clicker Question on how many women had won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  The answer?  Only 4.  I showed them photos, dates, names, and fields of these 4.  And the students were shocked, especially when I pointed out that from 1964 (Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin) to the present, there was only one female winner in Chemistry, Ada Yonath in 2009.

I don't have any suggestions myself for female candidates, but I blame that on my own ignorance and not on a lack of talent.

Oh, and one student remarked on seeing this year's winners..."That is chemistry?"

Thu, 10/11/2012 - 02:01 Permalink
Kyle Grice / DePaul University

That's a cool idea for a clicker question for gen chem!

For female candidates, I could rattle off a few names of people I think will be in contention for one for their accomplishments (Mainly biochem related: Bertozzi, Barton, Fowler).

Here's some names from the Inorganic crowd if we had a Nobel for just Inorganic: Mary DuBois (with Dan) for Proton relays if they continue to lead to better catalysts for proton-coupled reactions and the P2N2-type systems get used for more things, Darensbourg, Creutz and/or Fujita if they get an artificial photosynthesis system that will be deployable.

Carol Creutz could have won one for the Creutz-Taube ion when Taube won the Nobel, but then that brings up the potentially controvesial and polarizing debate of "should the student or the advisor get the credit or should they share..."... Also, Rosalind Franklin could have won one for DNA, but she passed away before the prize was awarded (and there are the various controversies).

I can look at relatively  young professors (like Melanie Sanford) and definitely think that in a few decades they would be in contention for something too if they keep on going with their current path.

Thu, 10/11/2012 - 16:52 Permalink