A 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to University of Edinburgh alumnus Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart. The prize was awarded jointly to Professor Stoddart, Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Bernard Feringa "for the design and synthesis of molecular machines".
Professor Stoddart received his BSc from Edinburgh in 1964 and a PhD from the University two years later. He was also awarded a Higher Doctorate (DSc) degree by the University in 1980 for his research into stereochemistry beyond the molecule. Professor Stoddart is currently a member of the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University in the United States.
In recognition of his research accomplishments, Professor Stoddart was named Edinburgh's Alumnus of the Year in 2005, and knighted in 2006. The University of Edinburgh School of Chemistry has also established an award in his name, the Fraser and Norma Stoddart PhD Prize.
The Nobel award recognizes Professor Stoddart’s groundbreaking contributions to a field that has taken chemistry in a new direction, and that may be used in the development of new materials, sensors and energy storage systems.
More information can be found on the University of Edinburgh website:
http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/staff/2016/nobel-award-for-chemistry-alumnus
Photo credit: School of Chemistry, The University of Edinburgh
