John E. McMurry
| John McMurry | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 27, 1942 New York City, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater |
Harvard University A.B. 1964 Columbia University Ph.D. 1967 |
| Known for | McMurry reaction |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions |
University of California, Santa Cruz, Cornell University |
| 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.
The author of more than 100 research papers, Professor 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). 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.
In addition to his scientific work, McMurry is the author of 40 undergraduate chemistry textbooks. More than 3.5 million copies of his books in 12 languages have been used throughout the world. Among his current texts are:
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