Eugene Earle van Tamelen (July 20, 1925 – December 12, 2009) was an organic chemist who is especially recognized for his contributions to bioorganic chemistry. van Tamelen published five papers while an undergraduate at Hope College. He conducted graduate work at Harvard University, receiving his doctorate in 1950 with Gilbert Stork as his advisor. He began his academic career at the University of Wisconsin, later joining the faculty of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where he spent the majority of his career. Among his many students was Nobelist

K. Barry Sharpless Karl Barry Sharpless (born April 28, 1941) is an American chemist and a two-time Nobel laureate in Chemistry known for his work on stereoselective reactions and click chemistry. Sharpless was awarded half of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry " ...

. He led a team who were the first persons to achieve the total synthesis of yohimbine. He pioneered in what is today called biomimetic synthesis. He was the first to identify squalene oxide as a precursor in the

biosynthesis Biosynthesis is a multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed process where substrates are converted into more complex products in living organisms. In biosynthesis, simple compounds are modified, converted into other compounds, or joined to form macromolecules. ...

of cholesterol. Van Tamelen was also the first to synthesise Dewar benzene. He developed a system for nitrogen fixation using titanocene. van Tamelen was also the owner of the first

Marshall Erdman Marshall Erdman (September 29, 1922 – September 17, 1995) was a Lithuanian-American builder and colleague of Frank Lloyd Wright. Life Early life Erdman was born Mausas Erdmanas on September 29, 1922, in Tverai, Lithuania. He emigrated to the Un ...

-built Frank Lloyd Wright-designed pre-fabricated house, commonly known as the "Eugene van Tamelen House". In 1981, van Tamelen became a founding member of the World Cultural Council. Eugene van Tamelen died of cancer in 2009.

Awards

Among his awards, he received the ACS Award in Pure Chemistry in 1961 and was elected to the US

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

References

1925 births 2009 deaths People from Zeeland, Michigan Hope College alumni Harvard University alumni American people of Dutch descent 20th-century American chemists Stanford University Department of Chemistry faculty Deaths from cancer Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Founding members of the World Cultural Council {{US-chemist-stub