Gilbert Stork facts for kids

Gilbert Stork (born December 31, 1921 – died October 21, 2017) was a very important organic chemist. Organic chemists study and create molecules that contain carbon. For many years, he was a top professor of chemistry at Columbia University.

Stork was famous for his amazing work in making complex natural products. These are molecules found in nature, like medicines. He was especially interested in creating quinine, a medicine used to treat malaria. He also found new ways to understand how chemical reactions work. He did groundbreaking work with something called enamine chemistry, which led to a method known as the Stork enamine alkylation. This method helps chemists build new molecules.

People believe he was the first to plan how to make molecules with a very specific 3D shape, and the first to create a natural product with such precise control. Gilbert Stork was also a great teacher. Many of his students became important scientists themselves.

Early Life and Moving to America

Gilbert Stork was born in Brussels, Belgium, on December 31, 1921. He was the oldest of three children. His younger brother, Michel, sadly passed away when he was a baby. Gilbert remained close with his younger sister, Monique, throughout his life.

His family had Jewish roots, but Gilbert didn't remember them being very religious. When Gilbert was about 14, around 1935, his family moved to Nice, France. They stayed there until 1939. During this time, Gilbert finished his high school studies, where he was very good at French literature and writing.

Gilbert wasn't very confident back then. He wasn't sure what job he would enjoy. He even thought about working for the government in a faraway place called French Indochina. But then, World War II started that year. This made his family move to New York, where his father's older brother, Sylvain, had already gone.

His Education Journey

Gilbert studied for his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Florida from 1940 to 1942. After that, he went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison to get his PhD, which he finished in 1945. His supervisor was Samuel M. McElvain.

While at Wisconsin, he met Carl Djerassi. They became lifelong friends.

A Career in Chemistry

Gilbert Stork had a long and successful career in chemistry:

• In 1946, he started as an instructor at Harvard University. By 1948, he became an Assistant Professor.
• In 1953, he moved to Columbia University as an Associate Professor. He became a full Professor in 1955.
• From 1967 to 1993, he was the Eugene Higgins Professor, a very important position.
• In 1993, he became a Professor Emeritus, meaning he retired but kept his title.

He was also chosen to be a member of many important scientific groups:

• U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1961
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1962
• Foreign Member of the French Academy of Sciences in 1989
• American Philosophical Society in 1995
• The Royal Society in the UK in 1999

The Exploding Steak Story!

While Gilbert Stork was studying at the University of Wisconsin, he once kept a steak on his windowsill in winter to keep it cold, like a refrigerator. The steak started to go bad. To get rid of it, Stork put it into a hot acid bath. This bath was normally used to clean glass containers and had strong acids like nitric and sulfuric acid.

He then worried that he might accidentally create nitroglycerin, which is an explosive. This was because the steak contained glycerin, and the bath had nitric and sulfuric acids. Luckily, the bath was very hot. This caused the chemicals to react in a way that prevented the explosive from forming. So, no explosion happened!

Awards and Recognitions

Professor Stork received many important awards and honors for his work. Some of them include:

• 1957 Award in Pure Chemistry from the American Chemical Society
• 1980 William H. Nichols Medal
• 1982 National Academy of Sciences Award in Chemical Sciences
• 1982 National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan
• 1995 Wolf Prize from Israel
• 2002 Sir Derek Barton Gold medal from the Royal Society of Chemistry

He also received special honorary degrees from several universities. These included Lawrence University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the University of Paris, the University of Rochester, and Columbia University.

To honor him, the first Gilbert Stork Lecture was held in 2014 at his old university, the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Other universities, like Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, also have lecture series named after him because of his generous donations.

Gilbert Stork was also known for his great sense of humor and interesting personality. A historian of chemistry, Jeffrey I. Seeman, even published a collection of his funny sayings, called "Storkisms."