Nobel Laureate Prof. Robert H. Grubbs Speaks at GIST

 

- Prof. Grubs gave a special lecture for students and the general public

on May 20.
    - The 2005 Nobel Laureate has involved in GIST-Caltech joint researches for three years.

 

 

 

 

□ The Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST, President   Youn Joon Kim) invited Robert H. Grubbs, 71, Prof. of chemical engineering in the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and 2005 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, for a special lecture.

 

□ Prof. Grubbs formed double- and triple-bonds between carbon and metals for the first time in the world in the late 1980s. For his contributions to the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2005.

 

❍ He has been acknowledged as a top authority in the fields of organic metallic chemistry and synthetic chemistry. In chemical reactions the bonds between different atoms are broken and new bonds formed, and such a phenomenon is called “metathesis.” For decades Prof. Grubbs has studied the principles of metathesis and ways to synthesize organic compounds and polymers.

 

❍ The term “green chemistry” refers to efforts to overcome the limitations of the conventional petrochemical products, which generate carbon dioxide and pollutants, and produce chemical substances that are used in our daily lives using plants and grains. Examples of green chemistry include producing “green diesel” to substitute for petroleum and developing pesticides that selectively kill harmful insects.

 

❍ The Nobel Foundation summed up his research accomplishments in the field of novel catalyst development as “green chemistry”.

 

□ Prof. Grubbs is one of GIST-Caltech joint researchers appointed by the two institutes, and now he is doing a joint research project on the fusion of anionic and metathetic polymerization with Prof. Lee, Jae Suk in the GIST School of Materials Science and Engineering.

 

❍ Last year, GIST received research proposals from both GIST and Caltech researchers. After reviewing the proposals, it made four pairs of Caltech-GIST joint research groups, including: Prof. Grubbs and Prof. Lee; Prof. Sarkis K. Mazmanian and Prof. Im, Sin Hyeog (School of Life Sciences); Prof. Changhuei Yang and Prof. Chung, Eui Heon (School of Medical System Engineering / School of Mechatronics); and Prof. Julia A. Kornfield and Prof. Tae, Gi Yoong (School of Materials Science and Engineering).

 

❍ Each research group conducts a three-year research project starting this year. In the coming autumn, they will hold a GIST-Caltech joint workshop to present the progress of their studies and share accomplishments and ideas.

 

□ In celebration of the 20^th anniversary, GIST will continue organizing the Nobel Laureate lecture series, inviting top-notch researchers who are doing joint research with GIST. Upcoming speakers include Prof. Alan J. Heeger, 2000 Nobel Laureate in chemistry, and Prof. Peter Grunberg, 2007 Nobel Laureate in physics.