Two scientists jointly won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of "asymmetric organocatalysis," the Nobel Assembly at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced in Stockholm on Wednesday.
Scientists Benjamin List and David MacMillan were jointly awarded the prize for the development of this precise new tool for molecular construction, which had "a great impact on pharmaceutical research, and has made chemistry greener," Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Secretary General Goran K. Hansson announced.
A statement by the assembly said that in 2000, the laureates independently developed a type of catalysis, a process that boosts the speed of a chemical reaction with a substance known as a catalyst, that uses neither metals nor enzymes, marking a first in the field. Dubbed asymmetric organocatalysis, this process builds upon small organic molecules.
"I absolutely didn't expect this surprise," List said, connecting to the teleconference and saying that he thought the news that he had received the prize was "a joke."
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