Jean Fréchet Explained

Jean M.J. Fréchet
Birth Date:August 19, 1944
Birth Place:Burgundy, France
Field:Chemistry
Work Institution:King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
University of California, Berkeley
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Cornell University
University of Ottawa
Known For:Dendrimers
Contributions in the fields of polymer science, photolithography, molecular self-assembly, microfluidics, and nanotechnology.
Thesis Title:Solid Phase Synthesis of Oligosaccharides[1]
Thesis Year:1972
Doctoral Students:Shelley Claridge
Notable Students:Craig Hawker
Awards:Dickson Prize (2007), Arthur C. Cope Award (2007), Japan Prize (2013), King Faisal International Prize (2019)
Website:,

Jean M.J. Fréchet (born August 1944) is a French-American chemist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. He is best known for his work on polymers including polymer-supported chemistry, chemically amplified photoresists, dendrimers, macroporous separation media, and polymers for therapeutics. Ranked among the top 10 chemists in 2021,[2] he has authored nearly 900 scientific paper and 200 patents including 96 US patents.[3] His research areas include organic synthesis and polymer chemistry applied to nanoscience and nanotechnology with emphasis on the design, fundamental understanding, synthesis, and applications of functional macromolecules.

Fréchet is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the US National Academy of Engineering, and the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea).

Education and academic career

Fréchet received his first university degree at the Institut de Chimie et Physique Industrielles (now CPE) in Lyon, France, before coming to the US for studies in organic and polymer chemistry under Conrad Schuerch at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and at Syracuse University   (Ph.D. 1971). He was on the Chemistry Faculty at the University of Ottawa in Canada from 1973 to 1987, when he became the IBM Professor of Polymer Chemistry at Cornell University. In 1997 Fréchet joined Chemistry faculty at the University of California, Berkeley and was named the Henry Rapoport Chair of Organic Chemistry in 2003 and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering in 2005. From 2010 to 2019 he served as the first Vice President for Research, then Senior Vice-President for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.

Research

Fréchet’s early work focused on polymer-supported chemistry with the first approach to the solid-phase synthesis of oligosaccharides [4] and pioneering work on polymeric reagents and polymer protecting groups.[5] In 1979 Working with C.G. Willson at IBM during a sabbatical leave, he invented chemically amplified photoresists [6] [7] for micro and nanofabrication. This widely used patented technology [8] which enables the extreme miniaturization of microelectronic devices is now ubiquitous for the fabrication of the very powerful computing and communication equipment in worldwide use. The addition of photogenerated bases [9] led to additional advances in chemically amplified resists. In 1990 working with Craig Hawker at Cornell, he developed the convergent synthesis of dendrimers [10] as well as approaches to hyperbranched polymers.[11] In 1992, working with F. Svec at Cornell, he reported the first preparation of macroporous polymer monoliths [12] that are now used in a variety of chemical separations. Later work at Berkeley saw the development of polymers and dendrimers as carriers for targeted therapeutics [13] and successful approaches to new organic materials for transistors and solar cells.[14]

Honors and awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18433314 WorldCat.
  2. Web site: World's Best Chemistry Scientists: H-Index Chemistry Science Ranking .
  3. Web site: Jean M. J. Frechet Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications – Justia Patents Search .
  4. Fréchet, J.M.J.; Schuerch, C. Solid-Phase Synthesis of Oligosaccharides. III. Preparation of Some Derivatives of di- and tri- saccharides via a simple Alcoholysis Reaction. Carbohyd. Res., 1972, 22, 399–412
  5. Fréchet, J.M.J. Synthesis and Applications of Organic Polymers as Supports and Protecting Groups. Tetrahedron, 1981, 37, 663–83
  6. Fréchet, J.M.J.; Ito, H.; Willson, C.G. Sensitive Deep UV Resist Incorporating Chemical Amplification. Proceedings Microcircuit Engineering 1982, Grenoble, 260–261
  7. Web site: Patterning the World: The Rise of Chemically Amplified Photoresists . 2 October 2007 .
  8. Ito, H., Willson. C.G., Fréchet, J.M.J Positive and Negative Working Resist Compositions with Acid-Generating Photoinitiator and Polymer with Acid-Labile Groups Pendant From Polymer Backbone. US Patent No. 4,491,628 issued January 1, 1985
  9. Frechet, J.M.J. Pure & Appl. Chem., 1992, 64, 1239–1248
  10. Hawker, C.J.; Fréchet, J.M.J. Preparation of Polymers with Controlled Molecular Architecture: A New Convergent Approach to Dendritic Macromolecules. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1990, 112, 7638–47
  11. Tomalia, D. A.; Fréchet, J.M. J. Discovery of dendrimers and dendritic polymers: a brief historical perspective. 2002, Journal of Polymer Science, Part A: Polymer Chemistry 40, 2719–2728
  12. Svec, F.; Fréchet, J.M.J. Novel continuous rods of macroporous polymer as High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Separation Media. Analytical Chemistry 1992, 64, 820–822
  13. Fox, M.E.; Szoka, F.C.; Fréchet, J.M.J.; Soluble polymer carriers for the treatment of cancer: the importance of molecular architecture. Accounts Chem Res. 2009. 42, 1141–1151
  14. Beaujuge, P.M.; Frechet, J.M.J. Molecular Design and Ordering Effects in pi-Functional Materials for Transistor and Solar Cell Applications – A Perspective. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 20009-20029
  15. Web site: 2020 Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering Recipients .
  16. https://kingfaisalprize.org/ King Faisal International Prize 2019
  17. http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2013/01/suny_esf_alumnus_jean_frchet_w.html#incart_river_default Tobin, Dave. (2013, January 30). "SUNY ESF alumnus Jean Fréchet wins Japan Prize,"
  18. Web site: Laureates of the Japan Prize The 2013 (29th) Japan Prize . Japan Prize Foundation . 2013-02-13.
  19. Web site: Les anciens lauréats .
  20. Web site: Academy of Europe: Erasmus Medal 2010 .
  21. Web site: The Nagoya Medal of Organic Chemistry . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220718015001/https://www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp/en/news/NagoyaMedal.pdf . 18 July 2022 . 27 July 2022 . www.itbm.nagoya-u.ac.jp . Nagoya University.

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