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| Barry Trost | |
|---|---|
| Name | Barry Trost |
| Birth date | 1939 |
| Fields | Organic chemistry, Catalysis, Synthesis |
| Workplaces | Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Alma mater | Harvard University, University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Known for | Palladium catalysis, Trost asymmetric allylic alkylation, atom economy |
| Awards | Nobel Prize (no) |
Barry Trost is an American organic chemist known for contributions to synthetic methodology, catalysis, and the formulation of the concept of atom economy. He is recognized for innovations in enantioselective catalysis, transition metal-mediated reactions, and strategic approaches to complex molecule construction. His work influenced generations of chemists across academic institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and chemical societies.
Born in 1939, Trost pursued undergraduate and graduate studies in chemistry, receiving degrees from institutions including University of Wisconsin–Madison and Harvard University. During his doctoral and postdoctoral training he worked alongside researchers connected to laboratories and traditions represented by figures such as Herbert C. Brown, Roald Hoffmann, Eugene N. Myers, John D. Roberts, and F. Albert Cotton. His education placed him within networks linking Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University School of Medicine, and prominent departments at Columbia University and University of California, Berkeley.
Trost held faculty positions at leading research universities, including appointments at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, and collaborations with groups at University of Wisconsin–Madison and Harvard University. He served on editorial boards and advisory committees for journals and organizations such as the American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and international funding agencies tied to National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. His visiting professorships and sponsored lectures took him to institutions like University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Max Planck Society, and California Institute of Technology.
Trost articulated the principle of atom economy, a guiding tenet for synthetic planning that emphasizes efficient incorporation of reactant atoms into products. This concept influenced fields and programs at Environmental Protection Agency, United Nations Environment Programme, and curricular initiatives at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. His mechanistic and methodological research encompassed transition metal catalysis involving palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, and nickel; asymmetric catalysis related to work by William S. Knowles, K. Barry Sharpless, Ryoji Noyori, and Ei-ichi Negishi; and total synthesis strategies reminiscent of approaches by Robert Burns Woodward, E. J. Corey, and Samuel J. Danishefsky. Trost’s emphasis on step economy and redox economy influenced synthetic campaigns at pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis.
Among Trost’s signature contributions are the development and refinement of the asymmetric allylic alkylation (often termed the Trost allylic alkylation), the palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution manifold, and protocols enabling enantioselective carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bond formation. These methodologies relate to catalytic paradigms developed by researchers like T. J. Katz, Yves Chauvin, Jean-Pierre Sauvage, and Robert H. Grubbs and complement strategies such as olefin metathesis, asymmetric hydrogenation, and cross-coupling reactions typified by Suzuki reaction, Heck reaction, and Negishi coupling. Trost also reported cascade and tandem processes that echo concepts used by K. C. Nicolaou, Phil S. Baran, and M. Christina White in complex molecule assembly.
Trost received numerous recognitions from scientific societies and institutions, including medals, lectureships, and fellowships from organizations such as the American Chemical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Guggenheim Foundation, and national academies associated with Japan, France, and Germany. He was invited to present named lectures at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of Cambridge, and international symposia including the Gordon Research Conferences and meetings organized by IUPAC and the European Chemical Society.
Trost trained a large number of doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars who established independent careers at universities and companies such as Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of California, San Diego, Imperial College London, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Eli Lilly and Company. His mentees have been recognized with awards from American Chemical Society, Royal Society, and national research councils. Trost’s intellectual legacy is manifest in citation networks linking journals like Journal of the American Chemical Society, Angewandte Chemie, Chemical Reviews, and textbooks used at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University School of Medicine.
Outside the laboratory, Trost engaged with scientific societies and philanthropic initiatives supporting chemistry education and research infrastructure at institutions such as Stanford University, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and community programs connected to Smithsonian Institution and regional museums. He participated in advisory roles for foundations, trusts, and endowments linked to Guggenheim Foundation and academic funding bodies in North America and Europe.
Category:Organic chemists Category:American chemists Category:1939 births Category:Living people