Interview of Robert H. Grubbs

Abstract

Robert H. Grubbs is a Nobel Laureate and the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology, USA. He grew up in the State of Kentucky, and received his BS and MS degrees from the University of Florida. Grubbs conducted Ph.D. studies under the guidance of Ronald Breslow at Columbia University [1], and postdoctoral work with James P. Collman at Stanford University. Grubbs shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Yves Chauvin and Richard R. Schrock for "for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis" [2], among many honors and awards he has received. Grubbs was invited by Ziling Xue (University of Tennessee at Knoxville, USA) in June to make a contribution to the current special issue on the International Year of Chemistry, and he accepted the invitation. Science China Chemistry then interviewed him about his early career, work on olefin metathesis catalysis as well as his views of chemistry research and advice on how to be a successful scientist. The interview questions were prepared by David M. Jenkins (University of Tennessee at Knoxville, USA), Lemin Li (Peking University, China), and Ziling Xue.

Additional details