Dieter Seebach is a German chemist known for his synthesis of biopolymers and dendrimers, and for his contributions to

stereochemistry Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms that form the structure of molecules and their manipulation. The study of stereochemistry focuses on the relationships between stereois ...

. He was born on 31 October 1937 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

. He studied chemistry at the

University of Karlsruhe (TH) The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT; german: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie) is a public research university in Karlsruhe, Germany. The institute is a national research center of the Helmholtz Association. KIT was created in 2009 w ...

under the supervision of

Rudolf Criegee Rudolf Criegee (* May 23, 1902 in Düsseldorf; † November 7, 1975 in Karlsruhe) was a German organic chemist. Early life Criegee's family was wealthy. His father worked as a court director. The family was national liberal, Prussian and Prot ...

and at

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 higher le ...

with Elias Corey finishing in 1969. After his

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

he became professor for organic chemistry at the

University of Giessen University of Giessen, official name Justus Liebig University Giessen (german: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), is a large public research university in Giessen, Hesse, Germany. It is named after its most famous faculty member, Justus von L ...

. After six years he was appointed professor at the

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

where he worked until he retired in 2003.

Work

Seebach worked on

dendrimer Dendrimers are highly ordered, branched polymeric molecules. Synonymous terms for dendrimer include arborols and cascade molecules. Typically, dendrimers are symmetric about the core, and often adopt a spherical three-dimensional morphology. The ...

chemistry and on the synthesis of beta-peptides. The development of the

umpolung In organic chemistry, umpolung () or polarity inversion is the chemical modification of a functional group with the aim of the reversal of polarity of that group. This modification allows secondary reactions of this functional group that would oth ...

, a polarity inversion of the

carbonyl In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom: C=O. It is common to several classes of organic compounds, as part of many larger functional groups. A compound containing a ...

group, with 1,3-propanedithiol together with Corey had a big influence on organic synthesis, and subsequently the Corey-Seebach reaction was named after them. The

Fráter–Seebach alkylation In organic chemistry, the Fráter–Seebach alkylation (also known as Seebach–Fráter alkylation or Fráter–Seebach reaction) is a diastereoselective alkylation of chiral beta-hydroxy esters using strong base (chemistry), bases. The reaction was ...

, a diastereoselective reaction of beta-hydroxy esters, is named after him.

Awards

*2000

Marcel Benoist Prize The Marcel Benoist Prize, offered by the Marcel Benoist Foundation, is a monetary prize that has been offered annually since 1920 to a scientist of Swiss nationality or residency who has made the most useful scientific discovery. Emphasis is pl ...

*2003

Tetrahedron Prize The Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Organic Chemistry or Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry is awarded annually by Elsevier, the publisher of Tetrahedron (journal), Tetrahedron Publications. It was established in 1980 and named in honour of the ...

for Creativity in Organic Chemistry & BioMedicinal Chemistry *2004

The Ryoji Noyori Prize The Ryoji Noyori Prize was established by the Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan in 2002 to commemorate Ryōji Noyori winning the 101st Nobel Prize in Chemistry as well as the 60th anniversary of the Society of Synthetic Organic Chemist ...

*2019

Arthur C. Cope Award The Arthur C. Cope Award is a prize awarded for achievement in the field of organic chemistry research. It is sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund, and has been awarded annually since 1973 by the American Chemical Society. It consists of $25,000, ...

References

External links

Article on Seebach from 2003Seebach homepage at ETH
1937 births Living people 21st-century German chemists ETH Zurich faculty Harvard University alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences 20th-century German chemists {{Germany-chemist-stub

Work

Awards

See also

References

External links