Benjamin List

Benjamin List (German pronunciation: [ˈbɛnjamiːn ˈlɪst] ;

born 11 January 1968) is a German chemist who is one Benjamin List
of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Coal
Research and professor of organic chemistry at the
University of Cologne. He co-developed
organocatalysis, a method of accelerating chemical
reactions and making them more efficient. He shared
the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with David
MacMillan "for the development of asymmetric
organocatalysis".[2]

Background
Born to an upper-middle-class family of scientists and
artists[1] in Frankfurt, List is a great-grandson of the
Benjamin List in 2021
cardiologist Franz Volhard and a 2nd great-grandson of
the chemist Jacob Volhard.[3] His aunt, the 1995 Nobel Born 11 January 1968
laureate in medicine Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, is Frankfurt, West Germany
the sister of his mother, architect Heidi List.[1][4] At Education Free University of Berlin
age three, his parents divorced.[3] (Diplom)
Goethe University Frankfurt
(PhD)
Career and research Relatives Christiane Nüsslein-
Volhard (aunt)[1]
List obtained his Diplom ([Link].) degree in chemistry
Awards Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
from the Free University of Berlin in 1993, and his
Prize (2016)
PhD from Goethe University Frankfurt in 1997. His
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
doctoral dissertation was titled Synthese eines Vitamin
(2021)
B 12 Semicorrins (Synthesis of a Vitamin B 12
Scientific career
Semicorrin),[5][6] and was advised by Johann
Mulzer.[7][8] List worked at the Scripps Research Institutions University of Cologne
Institute Department of Molecular Biology in La Jolla, Max Planck Institute for
US as a postdoctoral researcher in Carlos F. Barbas III Coal Research
and Richard Lerner's research groups[9] from 1997 to Hokkaido University
1998 with a scholarship from the Alexander von Thesis Synthese eines Vitamin B
Humboldt Foundation[3] and as an assistant professor 12 Semicorrins ([Link]
from 1999 to 2003.[10][11] [Link]/ubffm/Record/HE
B053816005) (1997)
Doctoral advisor Johann Mulzer
In 2003 he returned to Germany to become group Other academic Richard Lerner
leader at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, advisors Carlos F. Barbas III
and in 2005 he became one of the institute's directors,
heading the Homogeneous Catalysis Department.[3][12] He served as the institute's managing director
from 2012 to 2014.[7] He has held a part-time position as an honorary professor of organic chemistry at
the University of Cologne since 2004.[10][11] List is also a principal investigator at the Institute for
Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery, Hokkaido University since 2018.[13][14] He is the editor-in-
chief of the scientific journal Synlett.[15] As of 2021, he has an h-index of 95 according to Google
Scholar[16] and of 86 according to Scopus.[17]

List is considered to be one of the founders of organocatalysis,

which uses non-metal and non-enzyme catalysts.[18] In particular,
while still an assistant professor he discovered the possibility of
using the amino acid proline as an efficient chiral catalyst.[18][19]
This takes place in intermolecular aldol reactions, in which carbon
atoms from two different molecules are bonded together, induced
by proline.[18][19][20] The development is based on the Hajos–
Parrish–Eder–Sauer–Wiechert reaction.[21][22] Subsequently, he
developed the first proline-catalyzed Mannich,[23] Michael,[24]
Catalyst for asymmetric reactions,
and α-amination reactions.[25][26] He found asymmetric catalysis L-proline
(especially Asymmetric counteranion directed catalysis,
ACDC).[27][28] He developed also new methods of textile organic
catalysis, in which soluble organic catalysts and textiles are bound.[29] These methods could, for example,
help to treat water where there is no fresh water.[18] Asymmetric organocatalysis[26] is particularly
important in bioactive organic compounds, where the chirality of the compounds is important, for
example in drug production.[20]

On 6 October 2021, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with David MacMillan "for the
development of asymmetric organocatalysis."[2] The development has great influence on pharmaceutical
research and the drug production and "made chemistry greener".[30]

Personal life
List married Sabine List in La Jolla in 1999 and they have two sons, Theo and Paul.[31][32][33] They all
survived the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.[34]

List's parents sought to raise their children with an anti-authoritarian parenting style; he has admitted
occasionally using the approach with his own children, stating that "you may only be 12, but if you think
it will do you good to eat ten chocolate bars, then go ahead and do it. I have faith in you. But my advice
is: I wouldn't do it."[3]

Honors and awards

Source:[35]
 1994 NaFöG-Award from the City of Berlin[36]
1997 Feodor Lynen Fellowship of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
2000 Synthesis-Synlett Journal Award
2003 Carl-Duisberg-Memorial Award of the German Chemical Society
2004 Degussa Prize for Chiral Chemistry
2004 Lecturer's Award of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie
2004 Lieseberg Prize of the University of Heidelberg
2005 AstraZeneca European Lectureship, the Society of Synthetic Chemistry, Japan
2005 Lectureship Award
2005 Novartis Young Investigator Award
2006 JSPS Fellowship Award of Japan
2007 AstraZeneca Award in Organic Chemistry
2007 Award of the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie
2007 OBC-Lecture Award
2008 Visiting Professor at Sungkyunkwan University, Korea
2009 Boehringer-Ingelheim Lectureship, Canada
2009 Organic Reactions Lectureship, US
2009 Thomson Reuters Citation Laureate
2011 Boehringer-Ingelheim Lectureship, Harvard University, US
2011 ERC Advanced Grant
2012 Novartis Chemistry Lectureship Award
2012 Otto Bayer Award
2013 Horst-Pracejus-Preis
2013 Mukaiyama Award
2013 Ruhrpreis, Mülheim, Germany
2014 Cope Scholar Award, US
2014 Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher
2015 Carl Shipp Marvel Lectures, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US
2016 Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize
2017 Prof. U. R. Ghatak Endowment Lecture, Indian Association for the Cultivation of
Science (IACS), Kolkata, India
2017 Ta-shue Chou Lectureship, Institute of Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2018 Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
2019 Herbert C. Brown Lecture, Purdue University, Indiana, US
2019 Web of Science Citation Laureate in Chemistry
2021 TCR Lecture, 100th CSJ Annual Meeting, Japan
2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry[2]
2022 Herbert C. Brown Award 2022 for Creative Research in Synthetic Methodes[37]
2024 John Stauffer Distinguished Lecture in the Sciences University of Southern
California[38]

2024 Criegee Lectureship (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)[39]

Selected works
Source:[14]
 List, Benjamin; Lerner, Richard A.; Barbas, Carlos F. (26 February 2000). "Proline-Catalyzed
Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reactions". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 122 (10).
American Chemical Society (ACS): 2395–2396. doi:10.1021/ja994280y ([Link]
021%2Fja994280y). ISSN 0002-7863 ([Link]
Mayer, Sonja; List, Benjamin (19 June 2006). "Asymmetric Counteranion-Directed
Catalysis". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 45 (25). Wiley: 4193–4195.
doi:10.1002/anie.200600512 ([Link] ISSN 1433-7851
([Link] PMID 16721891 ([Link]
gov/16721891).
Čorić, Ilija; List, Benjamin (2012). "Asymmetric spiroacetalization catalysed by confined
Brønsted acids". Nature. 483 (7389). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 315–319.
Bibcode:2012Natur.483..315C ([Link]
doi:10.1038/nature10932 ([Link] ISSN 0028-0836 (http
s://[Link]/issn/0028-0836). PMID 22422266 ([Link]
22422266). S2CID 4401955 ([Link]
Kaib, Philip S. J.; Schreyer, Lucas; Lee, Sunggi; Properzi, Roberta; List, Benjamin (6
October 2016). "Extremely Active Organocatalysts Enable a Highly Enantioselective
Addition of Allyltrimethylsilane to Aldehydes". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 55
(42). Wiley: 13200–13203. doi:10.1002/anie.201607828 ([Link]
1607828). ISSN 1433-7851 ([Link] PMID 27653018
([Link]
Tsuji, Nobuya; Kennemur, Jennifer L.; Buyck, Thomas; Lee, Sunggi; Prévost, Sébastien;
Kaib, Philip S. J.; Bykov, Dmytro; Farès, Christophe; List, Benjamin (29 March 2018).
"Activation of olefins via asymmetric Brønsted acid catalysis". Science. 359 (6383).
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): 1501–1505.
Bibcode:2018Sci...359.1501T ([Link]
doi:10.1126/science.aaq0445 ([Link]
hdl:21.11116/0000-0001-2AD6-F ([Link]
ISSN 0036-8075 ([Link] PMID 29599238 ([Link]
[Link]/29599238). S2CID 4549863 ([Link]
D:4549863).
Lee, J.-W.; Mayer-Gall, T.; Opwis, K.; Song, C. E.; Gutmann, J. S.; List, B. (12 September
2013). "Organotextile Catalysis". Science. 341 (6151). American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS): 1225–1229. Bibcode:2013Sci...341.1225L ([Link]
[Link]/abs/2013Sci...341.1225L). doi:10.1126/science.1242196 ([Link]
1126%2Fscience.1242196). ISSN 0036-8075 ([Link]
PMID 24031014 ([Link] S2CID 206550607 ([Link]
[Link]/CorpusID:206550607).
Zhang, Zhipeng; Bae, Han Yong; Guin, Joyram; Rabalakos, Constantinos; van Gemmeren,
Manuel; Leutzsch, Markus; Klussmann, Martin; List, Benjamin (17 August 2016).
"Asymmetric counteranion-directed Lewis acid organocatalysis for the scalable
cyanosilylation of aldehydes" ([Link]
Nature Communications. 7 (1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 12478.
Bibcode:2016NatCo...712478Z ([Link]
doi:10.1038/ncomms12478 ([Link] ISSN 2041-1723 (h
ttps://[Link]/issn/2041-1723). PMC 4992067 ([Link]
c/articles/PMC4992067). PMID 27530470 ([Link]

References
1. "Nobelpreis für Nüsslein-Volhards Neffen" ([Link]
[Link]). [Link]. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
 2. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021" ([Link]
acts/). [Link]. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
3. Pietschmann, Catarina (6 October 2021). "A Perspective for Life" ([Link]
2734/potrait-benjamin-list). Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
4. "Nobelpreis an Deutschen für Revolution in der Chemie" ([Link]
issen/article233512243/[Link]).
Morgenpost. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
5. OCLC 613569311 ([Link]
6. Mulzer, Johann; List, Benjamin; Bats, Jan W. (1 June 1997). "Stereocontrolled Synthesis of
a Nonracemic Vitamin B12 A−B-Semicorrin". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 119
(24). American Chemical Society (ACS): 5512–5518. doi:10.1021/ja9700515 ([Link]
10.1021%2Fja9700515). ISSN 0002-7863 ([Link]
7. "Benjamin List, H. C. Brown lecture" ([Link]
ist%20web%20bio_2.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
8. "Benjamin List, Direktor am Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, erhält ERC Advanced
Grant des Europäischen Forschungsrates" ([Link]
enjamin_list_erhaelt_erc_advanced_grant.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 15 October 2021.
9. Service, Robert F. (6 October 2021). "Nobel honors molecule builders who made chemistry
easier and greener" ([Link]
-who-made-chemistry-easier-and-greener). Science. doi:10.1126/science.acx9266 ([Link]
[Link]/10.1126%2Fscience.acx9266). S2CID 242889498 ([Link]
rpusID:242889498). Retrieved 12 October 2021.
10. "List, Benjamin" ([Link] Max-Planck-
Gesellschaft. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
11. "Vita Prof. List" ([Link]
[Link]. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
12. "Board of Directors" ([Link] Max Planck
Institute for Coal Research. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
13. "ICReDD Principal Investigator, Prof. Benjamin List won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021!!
Huge congratulations!!" ([Link] ICReDD: Institute
for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery, Hokkaido University (WPI-ICReDD). 6
October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
14. "LIST, Benjamin" ([Link] ICReDD: Institute for
Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery, Hokkaido University (WPI-ICReDD). 23
December 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
15. List, Benjamin (30 May 2017). "Crowd-based peer review can be good and fast" ([Link]
org/10.1038%2F546009a). Nature. 546 (7656): 9. Bibcode:2017Natur.546....9L ([Link]
[Link]/abs/2017Natur.546....9L). doi:10.1038/546009a ([Link]
2F546009a). hdl:11858/00-001M-0000-002E-18FF-E ([Link]
01M-0000-002E-18FF-E). PMID 28569830 ([Link]
16. Benjamin List ([Link] publications
indexed by Google Scholar
17. "Scopus preview – List, Benjamin – Author details – Scopus" ([Link]
d/[Link]?authorId=7007013643). [Link]. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
18. "DFG gratuliert Benjamin List zum Nobelpreis für Chemie" ([Link]
e/pressemitteilungen/2021/pressemitteilung_nr_41/[Link]). [Link] (in German).
Retrieved 6 October 2021.
19. List, Lerner & Barbas 2000.
20. Castelvecchi, Davide; Stoye, Emma (6 October 2021). " 'Elegant' catalysts that tell left from
right scoop chemistry Nobel" ([Link] Nature. 598
(7880). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 247–248.
Bibcode:2021Natur.598..247C ([Link]
doi:10.1038/d41586-021-02704-2 ([Link]
ISSN 0028-0836 ([Link] PMID 34616090 ([Link]
[Link]/34616090). S2CID 238422185 ([Link]
sID:238422185).
21. List, Benjamin (2002). "Proline-catalyzed asymmetric reactions". Tetrahedron. 58 (28).
Elsevier BV: 5573–5590. doi:10.1016/s0040-4020(02)00516-1 ([Link]
0040-4020%2802%2900516-1). ISSN 0040-4020 ([Link]
0).
22. Hajos, Zoltan G.; Parrish, David R. (1974). "Asymmetric synthesis of bicyclic intermediates
of natural product chemistry". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 39 (12). American
Chemical Society (ACS): 1615–1621. doi:10.1021/jo00925a003 ([Link]
jo00925a003). ISSN 0022-3263 ([Link]
23. List, Benjamin; Pojarliev, Peter; Biller, William T.; Martin, Harry J. (10 January 2002). "The
Proline-Catalyzed Direct Asymmetric Three-Component Mannich Reaction: Scope,
Optimization, and Application to the Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of 1,2-Amino
Alcohols". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 124 (5). American Chemical Society
(ACS): 827–833. doi:10.1021/ja0174231 ([Link]
ISSN 0002-7863 ([Link] PMID 11817958 ([Link]
[Link]/11817958).
24. List, Benjamin; Pojarliev, Peter; Martin, Harry J. (14 July 2001). "Efficient Proline-Catalyzed
Michael Additions of Unmodified Ketones to Nitro Olefins". Organic Letters. 3 (16). American
Chemical Society (ACS): 2423–2425. doi:10.1021/ol015799d ([Link]
015799d). ISSN 1523-7060 ([Link] PMID 11483025
([Link]
25. List, Benjamin (30 April 2002). "Direct Catalytic Asymmetric α-Amination of Aldehydes".
Journal of the American Chemical Society. 124 (20). American Chemical Society (ACS):
5656–5657. doi:10.1021/ja0261325 ([Link] ISSN 0002-
7863 ([Link] PMID 12010036 ([Link]
[Link]/12010036).
26. List, Benjamin (1 December 2007). "Introduction: Organocatalysis" ([Link]
1%2Fcr078412e). Chemical Reviews. 107 (12). American Chemical Society (ACS): 5413–
5415. doi:10.1021/cr078412e ([Link] ISSN 0009-2665 (htt
ps://[Link]/issn/0009-2665).
27. Mayer & List 2006.
28. Mahlau, Manuel; List, Benjamin (28 November 2012). "Asymmetric Counteranion-Directed
Catalysis: Concept, Definition, and Applications". Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
52 (2). Wiley: 518–533. doi:10.1002/anie.201205343 ([Link]
05343). ISSN 1433-7851 ([Link] PMID 23280677 (htt
ps://[Link]/23280677).
29. Lee et al. 2013.
30. Dörhöfer, Pamela (6 October 2021). "Chemie-Nobelpreis für "geniales Werkzeug" " (https://
[Link]/wissen/chemie-nobelpreis-2021-benjamin-list-gewinner-frankfurt-davidn-macmilla
[Link]). Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
31. Harmsen, Torsten (6 October 2021). "Ehemaliger Berliner Student Benjamin List gewinnt
Chemie-Nobelpreis" ([Link]
r-student-benjamin-list-erhaelt-den-chemie-nobelpreis-li.187187). Berliner Zeitung (in
German). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
32. Müller-Jung, Joachim (6 October 2021). "Katalysator-Forscher List: Respektlos zum
Nobelpreis" ([Link]
[Link]). [Link] (in German). Retrieved 6 October 2021.
33. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021, Benjamin List Interview" ([Link]
zes/chemistry/2021/list/interview/). [Link]. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October
2021.
34. "Benjamin List: Der Nobelpreisträger, der den Tsunami überlebte" ([Link]
hrichten/[Link]). WDR. Retrieved
7 October 2021.
35. "Awards Prof. List" ([Link]
Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
36. "Diplom an der Freien Universität Berlin: Müller gratuliert Chemie-Nobelpreisträgern List und
McMillan" ([Link]
[Link]). rbb24 (in German). 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October
2021.
37. "Professor Ben List erhält den Herbert C. Brown Award" ([Link]
0212709-Herbert-C-Brown-Award-an-Ben-List). Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (in
German). 1 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
38. "The 50th John Stauffer Distinguished Lecture in the Sciences, April 23-24, 2024 Professor
Benjamin List 2021 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung"
([Link] Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and
Sciences, University of Southern California. 23 April 2024.
39. Podlech, Joachim (10 September 2014). "KIT - Institut für Organische Chemie - Startseite"
([Link] [Link] (in German). Retrieved 20 April 2024.

Further reading
Menne, Katharina (23 December 2023). "Organische Chemie: "Mit künstlicher Fotosynthese
ließen sich drei riesige Probleme lösen" " ([Link]
e-hat-die-chemische-synthese-revolutioniert/2202317). Spektrum der Wissenschaft (in
German). Retrieved 29 December 2023.

External links
Benjamin List ([Link] on [Link]

Retrieved from "[Link]