John E. Franz
| John E. Franz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 21, 1929 Springfield, Illinois |
| Residence | Crestwood, Missouri |
| Nationality | United States |
| Fields | Bio-Organic Chemistry |
| Known for | Inventor of Roundup |
| Notable awards |
National Medal of Technology Carothers Award Perkin Medal (1990) |
John E. Franz (born December 21, 1929) is an organic chemist who discovered the herbicide glyphosate while working at Monsanto Company in 1970. The chemical became the active ingredient in Roundup, a broad-spectrum, post-emergence herbicide. Franz has earned much acclaim and many rewards for this breakthrough. He also has over 840 patents to his name worldwide.
Franz has spent his entire career at Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri. After finishing his Ph.D., Franz was hired by Monsanto as a Resident Chemist in 1955. He focused on process research, new polymer synthesis, and the development of plasticizers and polymer flame retardants. Franz received two patents while working in the organic division, one for nitrates in 1960, and one for a fire retardant in 1967. He transferred to the Agricultural Division of Monsanto in 1967, motivated by the department’s “emphasis on publishing, academic contacts, and the freedom to pursue ideas” (Monsanto biography). Because his background was in organic chemistry, Franz familiarized himself with the new field by spending a year studying and learning about plant physiology and biochemistry before beginning research.
Franz discovered the herbicide glyphosate, and received five dollars for his first patent from Monsanto. From 1960 to 1988, he received over 840 patents worldwide including approximately fifty in the United States. Over the course of his career, Franz published over forty papers and wrote the book "Glyphosate: A Unique Global Herbicide" with Michael K. Mao and James A. Sikorski. He was promoted to Senior Scientific Fellow in 1975, then Distinguished Fellow in 1980, and later in his career went back to the organic division to concentrate on environmentally friendly products until he retired in 1991.
Researchers at Monsanto had been searching for an herbicide that was effective against annual and perennial weeds for nine years but found little success. They knew of two phosphonic acid compounds that were ineffective against weeds, and the researchers were not able to advance the compounds. Franz took over the research in 1969 and incorrectly hypothesized that the phosphonic acids acted as proherbicides that were metabolized to active compounds rather than herbicides. Franz and his research team screened possible metabolites and synthesized compounds and eventually discovered glyphosate in 1970.
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