Ronald Breslow
Ronald Charles Drake Breslow (March 14, 1931 – October 25, 2017) was an American chemist. He was University Professor at Columbia University. He had taught at Columbia since 1956 and was a former chair of the university's chemistry department. He was interested in the design and synthesis of new molecules with interesting properties, and the study of these properties.
Ronald Breslow | |
|---|---|
| File:Ronald Breslow HD2006 Othmer Gold Medal portrait.JPG | |
| Born | Ronald Charles Drake Breslow March 14, 1931 |
| Died | October 25, 2017 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Awards | ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1966) NAS Award in Chemical Sciences (1989) National Medal of Science (1991) Priestley Medal (1999) Othmer Gold Medal (2006) Perkin Medal (2010) AIC Gold Medal (2014) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | Columbia University |
| Doctoral students | |
He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
Breslow died of pancreatic cancer in New York City on October 25, 2017 at the age of 86.[1]
Ronald Breslow Media
Breslow discussing his life and career.
- CyclopropeniumDeloc.png
The cyclopropenyl cation, C3H+
3 - Straight Chain Analogs.jpg
Straight Chain Analogs for Aromaticity Studies
- Cyclic Analogs.jpg
Cyclic Compounds for Aromaticity Studies
Racemization of Amino Acids on an evolutionary time scale. Alpha methyl amino acids cannot racemize
Decarboxylative transamination. Note that the final product shown can be protonated from either face, generating a racemic mixture after hydrolysis of the imine.
- Alpha keto acids.jpg
Formation of alpha keto acids. The product shown above is believed to be oxidized to the final alpha keto acid by oxidation by iron oxide, as oxygen was not present on prebiotic Earth.
- L alpha methyl amino acid protonation.jpg
The conformation of the alpha-methyl amino acid favors protonation on the top face of the molecule, leading to the D-enantiomer. Hydrolysis of the decarboxylation product generates the D-amino acid.
- Copper Complex.jpg
Copper complex leading to the formation of L-amino acids.
References
Other websites
- Official biography
- A Video interview of Professor Breslow on the Eminent Organic Chemists Website Archived 2013-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
