John E. McMurry explained

John McMurry
Birth Date:27 July 1942
Birth Place:New York City, United States
Work Institution:University of California, Santa Cruz,
Cornell University
Alma Mater:Harvard University A.B. 1964
Columbia University Ph.D. 1967
Doctoral Advisor:Gilbert Stork

John E. McMurry (born July 27, 1942, in New York City) is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. He received an A.B. from Harvard University in 1964 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1967 working with Gilbert Stork. Following completion of his Ph.D., he joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1967 and moved to Cornell University in 1980.

Contributions

The author of more than 100 research papers, McMurry is best known scientifically for his development of the McMurry reaction, in which two molecules of ketone or aldehyde are coupled to give an alkene when treated with titanium(III) chloride and a reducing agent such as Zn(Cu).[1] The reaction has been widely used by the chemical community in the laboratory synthesis of many complex organic molecules and by the pharmaceutical industry in the commercial synthesis of several drugs. McMurry was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1985 and received a Max Planck Society Research Award in 1991.[2]

In addition to his scientific work, McMurry is the author of 45 undergraduate chemistry textbooks that have been translated into 12 languages and used throughout the world. McMurry's most popular textbook Organic Chemistry was first printed in 1984. In 2022, he sold the rights for the book to OpenStax making it free for the user.[3] [4] Among his other texts are:

Notes and References

  1. Book: 10.1002/047084289X.rt125. Titanium(IV) Chloride-Zinc. Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis. 2001. Richards. Ian C.. 0471936235.
  2. Web site: Organic Chemistry: Dedication and Preface . McMurry . John . Houston, Texas . OpenStax.org . 9 January 2024 . 23 June 2024 .
  3. News: Knox . Liam . Popular chemistry textbook's new edition will be free . 13 August 2022 . . August 11, 2022 . en.
  4. Best-selling organic chemistry textbook becomes open access . Chawla . Dalmeet Singh . 23 August 2022 . . 23 June 2024 .
  5. McMurry, J. E. (2015).
  6. McMurry, J. E., Fay, R. C., Robinson, J. K. (2019).
  7. McMurry, J. E., Fay, R. C. (2014).
  8. McMurry, J. E., Ballantine, D. S., Hoeger, C.A., Peterson, V. E. (2017).
  9. McMurry, J. E., Begley, T. P. (2016).