- 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Intro
Dutch synthetic organic chemist, Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen, and Academy Professor and Chair of Board of the Science Division of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with Sir Fraser Stoddart and Jean-Pierre Sauvage "for the design and synthesis of molecular machines".
Education and Work Experience
1978, Ph.D in Chemistry, Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Groningen
1988-Present, Chair and Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Groningen
2003-2011, Director of Stratingh Institute for Chemistry, University of Groningen
2011, Vice-president of KNAW, Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences
Honors and Awards
2004, Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2006, Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences KNAW
2016, Nobel Prize in Chemistry
2019, Foreign Member of the United States National Academy of Science
Major Academic Achievements
We can imagine that the components of the smallest machines could be molecules. For a machine to function, its parts must be able to move relative to each other. Ben Feringa has contributed to the development of molecular machines. For example, in 1999 he constructed a molecular motor by making a molecular rotor blade continuously spin in the same direction. In the future, molecular machines could be used for new materials, sensors, and energy storage systems. Feringa's design and synthesis of nanomolecular machines, specifically molecular switches and molecular motors, have initiated major novel approaches towards complex and dynamic chemical systems and the dynamic control of function.