Alfred E. Treibs (1899–1983) was a German organic chemist who is credited with founding the area of

organic geochemistry Organic geochemistry is the study of the impacts and processes that organisms have had on the Earth. It is mainly concerned with the composition and mode of origin of organic matter in rocks and in bodies of water. The study of organic geochemistr ...

. He received his PhD under

Hans Fischer Hans Fischer (; 27 July 1881 – 31 March 1945) was a German organic chemist and the recipient of the 1930 Nobel Prize for Chemistry "for his researches into the constitution of haemin and chlorophyll and especially for his synthesis of ha ...

at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Establis ...

. Fischer had received the

Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...

for elucidating the structures of

porphyrin Porphyrins ( ) are a group of heterocyclic macrocycle organic compounds, composed of four modified pyrrole subunits interconnected at their α carbon atoms via methine bridges (=CH−). The parent of porphyrin is porphine, a rare chemical com ...

s. In the 1930s Treibs discovered metalloporphyrins in petroleum. These porphyrins resemble chlorophylls. This discovery helped confirm the biological origin of petroleum, which was previously controversial.

References

External links

List of recipients of the Alfred Treibs Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treibs, Alfred E. 1899 births 1983 deaths 20th-century German chemists Technical University of Munich alumni Technical University of Munich faculty