Robert E. Ireland (1929 – February 4, 2012) was an American chemist and the Thomas Jefferson Chair Professor of chemistry at the University of Virginia. He is best known for his textbook Organic Synthesis and his contributions to the

Ireland–Claisen rearrangement The Ireland–Claisen rearrangement is a chemical reaction of an allylic ester with strong base to give an γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () atta ...

chemical reaction.

Academic career

Ireland earned his A.B. in chemistry in 1951 at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

and earned his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1954 from the University of Wisconsin with

William Summer Johnson William Summer Johnson (February 24, 1913 – August 19, 1995) was an American chemist and teacher. From 1940 to 1958, Johnson was an instructor and then professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1958, he moved to Stanford Universi ...

, and did his postdoctoral work at UCLA with

William Gould Young William Gould Young (July 30, 1902 – July 5, 1980) was an American physical organic chemist and professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). He served as Vice Chancellor at UCLA for 13 years, was elected to the National Academ ...

. In 1956, he joined the chemistry department of University of Michigan. In 1965, he became a professor of organic chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. In 1985 he became the director of the Merrell Dow Research Institute in Strasbourg, France. A year later, he became the chair of the chemistry department of University of Virginia.

Awards and honors

* Ernest Guenther Award, 1977

Personal life

Ireland was married to wife Margaret and has two sons, Mark and Robert.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, Robert E. 1929 births 2012 deaths American organic chemists Amherst College alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Michigan faculty California Institute of Technology faculty University of Virginia faculty