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St. Al's Speaks to Nobel Prize Winner

Last month - we were very thankful to have Professor David MacMillan, joint-winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Benjamin List, speak to our Higher and Advanced Higher chemistry students.

Calling in from all the way over in Princeton University in New Jersey, where he is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry, Professor MacMillan treated us to a talk on his work that ultimately won him the Nobel Prize: the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.

Professor MacMillan started his independent career in 1998 at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2000, he moved to the California Institute of Technology.

In 2006, he was named the A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Chemistry at Princeton University. From 2010-2015, he also served as the Chair of the Chemistry Department at Princeton.

Our students were enthralled by Professor MacMillan's story - as well as his lecture on what asymmetric organocatalysis is, and how it was developed from the early days of its investigation. David's work is a huge contribution to green chemistry and offers promising benefits for sustainability.

Mr. Anderson, Head of Chemistry here at the College, commented: 

"Scotland has long been at the forefront of Chemistry with Scottish chemists having produced some of the most innovative research that continues to impact on our lives on a daily basis. To have two Scottish Nobel Chemistry prize-winners in the space of five years with Professor MacMillan, and Professor Sir J Fraser Stoddart, is quite amazing, although not surprising.

On hearing that he had won the prize, I decided to chance my arm and email Professor MacMillan although didn’t think I’d stand a chance of hearing back from him. Our pupils and staff were absolutely delighted when David agreed to talk. His talk was just brilliant."

Thank you to Professor MacMillan for taking the time to speak to us (at a time difference of 5 hours!) - we're inspired by your work and example, and aspire to achieve your level of dedication to the field.

Professor MacMillan also took the time to answer some of our burning questions, take a look at our short Q&A session here: https://youtu.be/Y4KnizAsAN0