Nobel Prize: Two Individuals Win $1.1m For Developing Another Catalyst For Scientific Research

Benjamin List and David MacMillan have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021 “for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis” – a third type of catalyst in chemical research.

As published on the Nobel prize website on Wednesday, the laureates will equally share 10 million Swedish kronor($1,135,822) for their feat.

List ( German) and MacMillan (United States) were said to have built a new tool for molecular construction (organocatalysis) thereby registering their “impact on pharmaceutical research.”

“Catalysts are thus fundamental tools for chemists, but researchers long believed that there were, in principle, just two types of catalysts available: metals and enzymes,” Nobel foundation added.

Nobel is owned by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences which was founded in 1739, as an organization that promotes scientific research globally.

Between 1901 and 2021, the Nobel Prizes and other associated awards by the firm were awarded 935 individuals and 25 organizations.