Critical Perspective: Named Reactions Discovered and Developed by Women

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• 作者：Julie A. Olson ; Kevin M. Shea
• 刊名：Accounts of Chemical Research
• 出版年：2011
• 出版时间：May 17, 2011
• 年：2011
• 卷：44
• 期：5
• 页码：311-321
• 全文大小：968K
• 年卷期：v.44,no.5(May 17, 2011)
• ISSN：1520-4898

文摘

Named organic reactions. As chemists, we鈥檙e all familiar with them: who can forget the Diels鈭扐lder reaction? But how much do we know about the people behind the names? For example, can you identify a reaction named for a woman? How about a reaction discovered or developed by a woman but named for her male adviser? Our attempts to answer these simple questions started us on the journey that led to this Account.
We introduce you to four reactions named for women and nine reactions discovered or developed by women. Using information obtained from the literature and, whenever possible, through interviews with the chemists themselves, their associates, and their advisers, we paint a more detailed picture of these remarkable women and their outstanding accomplishments.
Some of the women you meet in this Account include Irma Goldberg, the only woman unambiguously recognized with her own named reaction. Gertrude Maud Robinson, the wife of Robert Robinson, who collaborated with him on several projects including the Piloty鈭扲obinson pyrrole synthesis. Elizabeth Hardy, the Bryn Mawr graduate student who discovered the Cope rearrangement. Dorothee Felix, a critical member of Albert Eschenmoser鈥檚 research lab for over forty years who helped develop both the Eschenmoser鈭扖laisen rearrangement and the Eschenmoser鈭扵anabe fragmentation. Jennifer Loebach, the University of Illinois undergraduate who was part of the team in Eric Jacobsen鈥檚 lab that discovered the Jacobsen鈭扠atsuki epoxidation. Keiko Noda, a graduate student in Tsutomu Katsuki鈥檚 lab who also played a key role in the development of the Jacobsen鈭扠atsuki epoxidation. Lydia McKinstry, a postdoc in Andrew Myers鈥檚 lab who helped develop the Myers asymmetric alkylation. Rosa Lockwood, a graduate student at Boston College whose sole publication is the discovery of the Nicholas reaction. Kaori Ando, a successful professor in Japan who helped develop the Roush asymmetric alkylation as a postdoc at MIT. Bianka Tchoubar, a critically important member of the organic chemistry community in France who developed the Tiffeneau鈭扗emjanov rearrangement.
The accomplishments of the women in this Account illustrate the key roles women have played in the discovery and development of reactions used daily by organic chemists around the world. These pioneering chemists represent the vanguard of women in the field, and we are confident that many more of the growing number of current and future female organic chemists will be recognized with their own named reactions.