Chemistry
The science of chemistry investigates the composition, structure, properties and transformations of substances and elementary forms of matter, primarily at the molecular level. Since 1950, NSF has supported 65 Nobel Laureates in chemistry.
NSF's Chemistry Division, within the directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS), is devoted to supporting chemistry research by the U.S. academic community, but the wide-ranging importance of chemistry doesn't stop there. Other NSF divisions in the MPS, Geosciences, Biological Sciences and Engineering directorates also fund chemistry-related activities.
For more on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and each of the laureates listed here, see the Nobel Prize website.
2023
Moungi G. Bawendi | Louis E. Brus | Alexei I. Ekimov
“For the discovery and synthesis of quantum dot technology.”
In the 1930s, physicists began theorizing the properties of synthetic materials so small in their dimensions that they could exhibit quantum properties. Thanks to the collective discoveries and seminal experiments of Bawendi, Brus and Ekimov in the 1980s and 1990s, scientists have a chemical method for reliably producing high-quality, semiconducting quantum dots. Today, quantum dots (a few nanometers in diameter) are manufactured into products that are part of our everyday lives - TVs, computers and smartphones - and researchers believe that in the future, these semiconducting nanocrystals could be used in technologies such as flexible electronics, tiny sensors and quantum computers. NSF is proud to have supported the research and early-career development of Brus and Bawendi, including the latter's Presidential Young Investigator Award in 1991.
2022
Carolyn Bertozzi | Morten Meldal | K. Barry Sharpless
“For the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.”
Their breakthrough discoveries enabled new ways to create complex molecules more quickly and efficiently, even within the cells of living organisms. Their fundamental research provided the groundwork for new applications in multiple areas such as the development of new drugs and medical therapies and more targeted cancer treatments. NSF has supported both Bertozzi and Sharpless with awards over several decades, including Graduate Research Fellowships to both scientists, a CAREER award to Bertozzi and multiple other awards including those that supported their 2022 Nobel Prize-winning discoveries and Sharpless' earlier 2001 Nobel Prize-winning work.
2020
JENNIFER A. DOUDNA | EMMANUELLE CHARPENTIER
“For the development of a method for genome editing.”
The Nobel Assembly has awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Jennifer A. Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, and Emmanuelle Charpentier, of the Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, in Berlin. NSF has long supported Doudna's work, as well as the work of other researchers in Doudna's CRISPR lab. NSF's support for Doudna began in 2000, when she was given the Alan T. Waterman award, and continued over two decades with awards for innovative basic research projects to advance CRISPR. Doudna, an advocate for fundamental research, has noted how CRISPR started as a basic science, curiosity-driven project. Her NSF-supported work included collaboration with Charpentier.
2019
JOHN B. GOODENOUGH | M. STANLEY WHITTINGHAM | AKIRA YOSHINO
“For the development of lithium-ion batteries.”
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to John B. Goodenough of the University of Texas at Austin, M. Stanley Whittingham of the State University of New York at Binghamton, and Akira Yoshino of Asahi Kasei Corporation, Japan for the development of lithium-ion batteries. The award committee remarked that the work "created the right conditions for a wireless and fossil-fuel free society, and so brought the greatest benefit to humankind." NSF has supported Goodenough and Whittingham's work over a span of 30 years, Goodenough with 21 research awards and Whittingham with 30 awards for research or teaching. Most of Goodenough's NSF-supported work focuses on magnets and superconductors. Whittingham discovered that it is possible to slide lithium ions in and out between the layers of an electrode, an instrumental finding in the development of lithium batteries.
2018
FRANCES H. ARNOLD | GEORGE P. SMITH | GREGORY P. WINTER
“For the directed evolution of enzymes.”
The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded Frances H. Arnold of California Institute of Technology and the other half jointly to George P. Smith of the University of Missouri and Gregory P. Winter at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Arnold's work is on the directed evolution of enzymes to synthesize everything from pharmaceuticals to biofuels to crop protections for agriculture. NSF supported Arnold through many awards over the course of three decades, including a Presidential Young Investigators Award in 1989 (8957118). Smith developed a way to use viruses to infect bacteria, and Winter applied that knowledge to direct changes in antibodies to make new therapeutic treatments. NSF provided funding to Smith to encourage students to integrate mathematics and the life sciences (0928053).
2017
JOACHIM FRANK
“For developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution.”
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Jacques Dubochet of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Joachim Frank of Columbia University and Richard Henderson of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, United Kingdom. Their work developing cryo-electron microscopy allows researchers to view the mechanisms that make life function on an unprecedented scale. Frank, who made the technology generally applicable, worked between 1975 and 1986 to develop a method to merge the microscope's fuzzy, 2-D images into sharp, 3-D structures. NSF provided three decades of support for his research, with nearly a dozen awards for work including the 1984 acquisition (8313045) of a high-resolution electron microscope for 3-D reconstruction (8313045), software support to make his imaging methods available to other researchers (9115534) and the development of enhanced visualizations (9219043).
2016
J. FRASER STODDART
“For the design and synthesis of molecular machines.”
The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was shared by J. Fraser Stoddart of Northwestern University in the U.S., Jean-Pierre Sauvage of the University of Strasbourg, France, and Bernard L. Feringa of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. NSF has supported Stoddart's research. The three were recognized for their work creating machines on a molecular level. Sauvage succeeded in linking two ring-shaped molecules together to form a chain, not by covalent bonds in which atoms share molecules but by mechanical bonds. Stoddart's research group created a rotaxane -- a ring-shaped molecule that is mechanically attached to an axle. They have constructed a molecular lift and a muscle out of various rotaxanes. Feringa designed a molecule that was mechanically constructed to control the direction of its spin. "They have developed molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added," noted the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences press release. "The 2016 Nobel Laureates in Chemistry have miniaturized machines and taken chemistry to a new dimension." Stoddart has received NSF support since 2009, including award #1308107.
2015
PAUL MODRICH | AZIZ SANCAR
“For mechanistic studies of DNA repair.”
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar. They were recognized for research that led to important insights about how cells function --how they repair damaged DNA and protect genetic information--that can be used for the development of new cancer treatments. Modrich and Sancar received NSF support early in their research careers. Modrich, of Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University School of Medicine, was funded through NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate for research on DNA replication proteins, using bacteriophage--a virus that infects bacteria--as a model system (7823036, 7604914, and 7623735. The research led to important findings about the enzyme that replicates DNA. Sancar, of the University of North Carolina, was honored for his research on another cellular mechanism used to repair ultraviolet damage to DNA. Modrich was awarded an NSF Graduate Fellowship in 1968. Sancar was selected by NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate for a Presidential Young Investigator award (8351212).
2014
WILLIAM E. MOERNER
“For the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy.”
The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Eric Betzig of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stefan W. Hell of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, and William E. Moerner of Stanford University. Moerner has received extensive NSF support throughout his career beginning with his selection for a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 1975. More recently, he has received continuing grants and small grants for exploratory research (SGER) from NSF's Biological Sciences Directorate and Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate.
2013
MARTIN KARPLUS | MICHAEL LEVITT | ARIEH WARSHEL
“For the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.”
The 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Martin Karplus of the Université de Strasbourg, France, and Harvard University, Michael Levitt of Stanford University School of Medicine, and Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California.
2012
BRIAN K. KOBILKA
“For studies of G-protein-coupled receptors.”
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka for research that reveals the inner workings of an important family of receptors, the G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Each cell in the human body has tiny receptors that enable it to sense its environment so that it can adapt to new situations. There are over 800 GPCRs in the human genome. Kobilka, of the Stanford University School of Medicine, was selected for an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in 1977. More recently, he received an International Collaboration in Chemistry award (#1223785) for research on the chemical basis for allosteric regulation of G-protein-coupled receptors.
2010
RICHARD F. HECK | EI-ICHI NEGISHI
“For palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis.”
In the Heck reaction, the Negishi coupling and the Suzuki reaction, carbon atoms meet on a palladium atom, where their proximity to one another kick-starts the chemical reaction. NSF has funded Heck and Negishi multiple times since 1977 and 1980 respectively for carbon-based (organic) chemistry research that set the groundwork for the development of these award-winning scientific methods now widely used in medicine/pharmaceuticals, agriculture and electronics.
2009
THOMAS A. STEITZ
“For studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.”
Steitz received the prize for showing what the ribosome looks like and how it functions at the atomic level. Ribosomes produce proteins, which in turn control the chemistry in all living organisms. He used a method called X-ray crystallography to map the position for each and every one of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome. Steitz, Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and professor of chemistry at Yale University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, received NSF support for research on the structural basis of the molecular mechanism of cellular control in the late 1970s (7725111) and 1980s (8110880, 8316666) and an equipment award (8413761) in 1985.
2008
OSAMU SHIMOMURA | MARTIN CHALFIE | ROGER Y. TSIEN
“For the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP.”
This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry rewards the initial discovery of GFP and a series of important developments that led to its use as a tagging tool in bioscience. This glowing marker allows researchers to watch the movements, positions and interactions of tagged proteins. Shimomura, professor emeritus at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Mass. and Boston University's Medical School, received NSF support for research on the biochemistry of luminescence and the photoprotein aequorin, which is used in monitoring intracellular calcium, from 1979 (7822959) to 1997 (9630861 and 9722982). Chalfie, professor of Biological Sciences at Columbia University, received NSF funding in 1990 (9019798). Tsien, presently at the University of California at San Diego, received NSF funding in the late 1980s (8714246, 8847134) to establish a center for the study of cell morphology and function at University of California - Berkeley.
2005
ROBERT H. GRUBBS | RICHARD R. SCHROCK
“For the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis.”
Grubbs and Schrock received the prize for their pioneering work on metathesis. This chemical reaction has become a mainstay of the chemical industry, mainly in the development of pharmaceuticals and of advanced plastic materials, and has greatly advanced the cause of "green chemistry.” NSF has provided extensive support for both Grubbs and Schrock since the 1970s.
GRUBBS
Affiliation: California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CANSF Support: Awards 0443614, 0410425, 0239697, 0111946, 9809856, 9509745, 9313230, 9202583, 9018677, 8922072, 8812094, 8520517, 8214668, 8106810, 8016528, 7918031, 7904814, 7714752, 750779
SCHROCK
Affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA NSF Support: Awards 0138995, 9988766, 9700736, 9500750, 9312413, 9122827, 9007175, 8822508, 8402892, 8121282, 76074102003
PETER AGRE
“For the discovery of water channels.”
NSF supported a group of researchers at Johns Hopkins, including Agre, in the purchase of an electron microscope through a 1996 award (see award 9601943).
RODERICK MACKINNON
“For structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels.”
Roderick MacKinnon of Rockefeller University made discoveries concerning how salts (ions) are transported out of and into the cells of the body, a process necessary for producing electrical signals in the nervous system. MacKinnon determined the structure of the potassium ion channel from studies of the bacterium Streptomyces lividans using the NSF-supported Cornell High-Energy Synchrotron Source (9713424).
2002
JOHN B. FENN
“For [joint] development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules.”
NSF support includes 10 awards spanning a quarter century, from 1975 (7521821) through 1999 (9902045).
2001
K. BARRY SHARPLESS
“For his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions.”
NSF support for Sharpless includes a series of seven awards from 1977 (7714628) to 1999 (9985553).
2000
ALAN J. HEEGER | ALAN MACDIARMID
“For their discovery and development of conductive polymers.”
NSF support for Heeger began with a Cooperative Graduate Fellowship (1960) and includes a series of 20 awards from 1965 to 2000 (0099843). MacDiarmid's NSF support began with a 1973 award (7304771), continued through the 1980s and more recently, includes a 2002 award (0221664).
1999
AHMED H. ZEWAIL
“For his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy.”
Zewail's studies of the transition states of chemical reactions have revolutionized the field by allowing scientists to understand and predict the detailed course of reactions. His pioneering investigations showed that it is possible with very short-pulsed laser techniques, to see how the atoms in a molecule move. While advancing fundamental understanding of chemical processes, his work has also contributed to multidisciplinary efforts to study and control the chemistry of living systems. NSF has been a major supporter of Zewail's research for over 20 years, beginning in the late 1970s (7719578), and continuing in more than a dozen awards.
1998
WALTER KOHN | JOHN A. POPLE
The prize was awarded jointly to Kohn “for his development of the density-functional theory,” and to Pople “for his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry.”
Kohn and Pople have enhanced the understanding of quantum chemistry and advanced methods for theoretical studies of the properties of molecules. NSF support for Kohn includes an NSF Fellowship, as well as more than a dozen awards from 1966 through 2003 (0313980). Pople's NSF support includes an award from 1965 for theoretical chemical physics, and seven awards from 1970 (7002086) to 1996 (9629964).
1997
PAUL D. BOYER
“For elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).”
NSF support started with an award in 1953 and continued through electronically-accessible awards in the 1970s and early 1980s (7202462, 7518884, 8100817).
1996
ROBERT F. CURL JR. | RICHARD E. SMALLEY
“For the [joint] discovery of fullerenes.”
Curl's NSF support began with an NSF Fellowship (1954) and includes at least 16 awards from 1965 to 2001 (0111125). NSF support for Smalley dates to the late 1970s (7704378) and has continued through 2003 (0321240). Smalley was also the founding director of the NSF-supported Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University.
1995
PAUL J. CRUTZEN | MARIO J. MOLINA | F. SHERWOOD ROWLAND
“For their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone.”
NSF has supported Crutzen as a member of the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate at SIO, an NSF Science and Technology Center (8920119, 9405024), acknowledged by Crutzen in his Nobel Lecture. More recently, Crutzen--now at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography--has been supported by a 2000 award (0001424). Molina's NSF support dates to the mid-1970s (7624419) and includes nine awards through 2003 (0308748). NSF support for Rowland includes a series of awards spanning from 1978 (7810315) to 2001 (0116747).
1994
GEORGE A. OLAH
“For his contribution to carbocation chemistry.”
NSF support includes a dozen awards from the 1970s (7308526) to 2001 (0102258).
1992
RUDOLPH A. MARCUS
“For his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems.”
NSF support began with a chemistry award in 1957 and includes 10 electronically-available awards from 1972 (7204610) to 2002 (0212942).
1990
ELIAS J. COREY
“For his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis.”
NSF support began with chemistry awards in 1955 and 1957 and includes six electronically-available awards from 1975 (7504124) to 1998 (9811917).
1989
SIDNEY ALTMAN | THOMAS R. CECH
“For their discovery of catalytic properties of RNA.”
NSF support for Altman includes six awards from the late 1970s (7904054) to the 1990s (9101670). Cech's NSF support includes an NSF Fellowship and a 1985 award (8501622).
1987
DONALD J. CRAM
“For [joint] development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity.”
NSF support dates to an award in 1956 and includes seven electronically-accessible awards from 1972 (7204616) to 1990 (9023517).
1986
DUDLEY R. HERSCHBACH | YUAN T. LEE
“For their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes.”
NSF support for Herschbach dates back to an NSF Fellowship and a research award in 1964. Herschbach also has 11 electronically-available awards from 1971 (7102601) to 2002 (0210437). Lee's NSF support includes awards in 1979 (7916250) and 1983 (8303208).
1985
HERBERT A. HAUPTMAN
“For [joint] outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures.”
NSF support includes eight awards starting in the mid-1970s (7617582) and as recently as 2002 (0204918).
1984
ROBERT B. MERRIFIELD*
“For his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix.”
NSF support includes a 1985 award (8513403) on "Solid Phase Synthesis of Biologically Active Peptides."
1983
HENRY TAUBE
“For his work on the mechanisms of electron transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes.”
NSF support dates to his first award in 1958 and includes a dozen awards from 1970 (7002022) to 1997 (9727416).
1981
ROALD HOFFMANN
“For [joint] theories, developed independently, concerning the course of chemical reactions.”
NSF support dates back to an NSF Fellowship and spans a series of nearly 20 awards from the 1970s (7606099) to the present (0204841).
1980
PAUL BERG
“For his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA.”
NSF support includes a 1974 award (7410036) and three other awards that predate electronic records.
WALTER GILBERT
“For [joint] contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids.”
NSF support includes an NSF Fellowship and at least three other awards spanning three decades (7521164, 8818026, 9510732).
1979
HERBERT C. BROWN
“For[joint] development of the use of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively, into important reagents in organic synthesis.”
NSF support dates to early awards in 1952 and 1955 and continued through six more electronically-available awards from the 1970s to the 1990s (7305136, 9012236).
1976
WILLIAM N. LIPSCOMB
“For his studies on the structure of boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding.”
NSF support dates back to a physical chemistry award in 1962 and includes five electronically-available awards from 1976 (7684183) to 1988 (8820590).
1974
PAUL J. FLORY
“For his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of the macromolecules.”
NSF support began with chemistry awards in 1957 and 1958 and includes three electronically-available awards in the 1970s and 1980s (7307655, 7620638, 8006624).
1972
CHRISTIAN B. ANFINSEN*
“For his work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation.”
Anfinsen was a long-time researcher at the National Institutes of Health before moving to Johns Hopkins University in 1982. NSF made an award to Anfinsen in 1994 (9420228) shortly before his death in May 1995.
STANFORD MOORE | WILLIAM H. STEIN
“For their contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active centre of the ribonuclease molecule.”
Moore and Stein jointly acknowledged NSF support to their lab in their Nobel Lecture. Their first chemistry award dates to 1957 and later included a 1977 award (7715791).
1968
LARS ONSAGER*
“For the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name, which are fundamental for the thermodynamics of irreversible processes.”
NSF support dates back to chemistry awards in 1956 and 1959 and an electronically-available award in 1975 (7517533), while Onsager was at the University of Miami.
1966
ROBERT S. MULLIKEN*
“For his fundamental work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure of molecules by the molecular orbital method.”
NSF support began with awards in 1957 and 1958 and continued through an electronically-available award in 1972 (7205112).
1965
ROBERT B. WOODWARD*
“For his outstanding achievements in the art of organic synthesis.”
NSF support includes chemistry awards starting in 1956 and 1958, as well as a more recent 1978 award (7825699).
1961
MELVIN CALVIN*
“For his research on the carbon dioxide assimilation in plants.”
NSF first supported him with awards in 1961 and 1964.
1960
WILLARD F. LIBBY*
“For his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics and other branches of science.”
NSF support dates back to his first award in 1955 as well as a more recent award in 1976 (7614273).
1954
LINUS C. PAULING*
“For his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances.”
NSF support dates to a molecular biology award in 1955 and includes a 1980 materials research award (8012728).
1951
GLENN T. SEABORG*
“For [joint] discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements.”
NSF supported Seaborg in the 1980s with Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education awards (8652145, 8751459).
* Received NSF support after receiving Nobel Prize.
# Received NSF support as graduate students who were part of an NSF grantee's group, as members of an NSF-supported team, and/or users of NSF-supported facilities; see the list of
Physics laureates to learn how they were supported by NSF.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations presented in this material are only those of the presenter grantee/researcher, author, or agency employee; and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.