William Standish Knowles (June 1, 1917 – June 13, 2012) was an American

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...

. He was born in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

. Knowles was one of the recipients of the 2001

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

. He split half the prize with

Ryōji Noyori is a Japanese chemist. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001, Noyori shared a half of the prize with William S. Knowles for the study of chirally catalyzed hydrogenations; the second half of the prize went to K. Barry Sharpless for his st ...

for their work in asymmetric synthesis, specifically for his work in hydrogenation reactions. The other half was awarded to K. Barry Sharpless for his work in oxidation reactions.

Education

Knowles attended Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts. He led his class academically and upon graduation was admitted to

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

after passing the College Board exams. Feeling that he was too young to go to college, Knowles spent a year at Phillips Academy in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

. At the end of the year, he captured his first award in chemistry, the school's $50 Boylston Prize. After his year in preparatory school, Knowles attended Harvard, where he majored in chemistry, focusing on

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, ...

. He received his undergraduate degree in 1939, and attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for graduate school.

Awards and honors

*1983 Chemical Pioneer Award from the

American Institute of Chemists The American Institute of Chemists (AIC) is an organization founded in 1923 with the goal of advancing the chemistry profession in the United States. The institute is known for its yearly awards recognizing contributions of individuals in this fi ...

*2001

*2008 Peter H. Raven Lifetime Achievement Award, from the Academy of Science, St. Louis.

Nobel Prize

He shared half of the

in 2001 with

for "their work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation reactions". The other half of the prize was awarded to K. Barry Sharpless for the development of a range of catalytic asymmetric oxidations. Knowles developed one of the first

asymmetric hydrogenation Asymmetric hydrogenation is a chemical reaction that adds two atoms of hydrogen to a target (substrate) molecule with three-dimensional spatial selectivity. Critically, this selectivity does not come from the target molecule itself, but from othe ...

catalysts by replacing the achiral

triphenylphosphine Triphenylphosphine (IUPAC name: triphenylphosphane) is a common organophosphorus compound with the formula P(C6H5)3 and often abbreviated to P Ph3 or Ph3P. It is widely used in the synthesis of organic and organometallic compounds. PPh3 exists ...

ligands in

Wilkinson's catalyst Wilkinson's catalyst is the common name for chloridotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I), a coordination complex of rhodium with the formula hCl(PPh3)3(Ph = phenyl). It is a red-brown colored solid that is soluble in hydrocarbon solvents such as ...

with chiral

phosphine ligand A metal-phosphine complex is a In coordination complex containing one or more phosphine ligands. Almost always, the phosphine is an organophosphine of the type R3P (R = alkyl, aryl). Metal phosphine complexes are useful in homogeneous catalysis. ...

s. This experimental catalyst was effective for enantioselective synthesis, achieving a modest 15%

enantiomeric excess In stereochemistry, enantiomeric excess (ee) is a measurement of purity used for chiral substances. It reflects the degree to which a sample contains one enantiomer in greater amounts than the other. A racemic mixture has an ee of 0%, while a si ...

Knowles was also the first to apply enantioselective metal catalysis to industrial-scale synthesis; while working for the Monsanto Company he developed an enantioselective hydrogenation step for the production of

L-DOPA -DOPA, also known as levodopa and -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine, is an amino acid that is made and used as part of the normal biology of some plants and animals, including humans. Humans, as well as a portion of the other animals that utilize -DOPA ...

, utilising the

DIPAMP DIPAMP is an organophosphorus compound that is used as a ligand in homogeneous catalysis. It is a white solid that dissolves in organic solvents. Work on this compound by W. S. Knowles was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. DIPAMP w ...

ligand. : L-dopaSyn

Personal life

Following his retirement in 1986, Knowles resided in Chesterfield, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. In retirement he restored native prairie grasses on a 100-acre farm that his wife had inherited. He was married to his wife, Nancy, for 66 years and had four children, Elizabeth, Peter, Sarah and Lesley. He also had four grandchildren. Knowles died in Chesterfield on June 13, 2012 at age 95. He and his wife had previously stated that their farm would be donated to be converted into a city park after their deaths.

References

External links

* including the Nobel Lecture December 8, 2001 ''Asymmetric Hydrogenations'' * Knowles's Nobel Lectur
Asymmetric Hydrogenations
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, William Standish American chemists American Nobel laureates Columbia University alumni Harvard University alumni Berkshire School alumni Nobel laureates in Chemistry People from Taunton, Massachusetts 1917 births 2012 deaths Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Monsanto employees Chemists from Missouri Nobel laureates affiliated with Missouri