Jean-Marie Lehn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Marie Lehn
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Lehn in 2018
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| Born | 30 September 1939 |
| Nationality | French |
| Alma mater | University of Strasbourg |
| Known for | Cryptands |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Supramolecular chemistry |
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| Thesis | Résonance magnétique nucléaire de triterpènes (1963) |
| Doctoral advisor | Guy Ourisson |
| Doctoral students | Jean-Pierre Sauvage |
Jean-Marie Lehn is a famous French chemist born on September 30, 1939. In 1987, he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shared the award with Donald Cram and Charles Pedersen. They were honored for making special cage-like molecules called cryptands.
Lehn was one of the first scientists to work in a field called supramolecular chemistry. This is a type of chemistry where scientists study how molecules connect and recognize each other. Think of it like a lock and key: one molecule (the "host") can perfectly fit and hold another molecule (the "guest"). This helps us understand how things work in our bodies, like how medicines know which cells to target. As of 2006, his team had published 790 scientific papers.
Contents
About Jean-Marie Lehn's Life
Early Years and Education
Jean-Marie Lehn was born in Rosheim, Alsace, France. His parents were Pierre and Marie Lehn. His family had German roots from the Alsace region. His father was a baker who also loved music and became the city organist. Jean-Marie also loved music and played the organ, which he continued to do even as a scientist.
He went to high school in Obernai from 1950 to 1957. There, he studied many subjects, including different languages like Latin, Greek, German, and English. He also enjoyed French literature, philosophy, and especially chemistry. In 1957, he earned two high school diplomas, one in philosophy and one in natural sciences.
Lehn thought about studying philosophy at the University of Strasbourg. But he decided to study physical, chemical, and natural sciences instead. He was inspired by the lectures of Guy Ourisson. Lehn realized he wanted to do research in organic chemistry. He joined Ourisson's lab and worked towards his Ph.D. He even published his first scientific paper there. After getting his Ph.D. in 1963, he worked for a year at Robert Woodward's lab at Harvard University.
Scientific Career and Discoveries
In 1966, Lehn became an assistant professor at the Chemistry Department of the University of Strasbourg. He focused his research on the physical properties of molecules. He would create new compounds to see how their structure affected their properties.
A big breakthrough came in 1968. He successfully made molecules that looked like tiny cages. These cages had a space inside where another molecule could fit. He could design these cages to have specific shapes. This meant only certain types of molecules could fit inside them. This idea was very important for creating new sensors. It also plays a key role in molecular biology, which studies how living things work at a molecular level.
Lehn named these special cage molecules "cryptands." They became his main research interest. This work led him to define a new area of chemistry: "supramolecular chemistry." Instead of studying the bonds inside one molecule, this new field looks at how different molecules attract each other. It studies "fragile objects" like micelles or polymers.
In 1980, he was chosen to teach at the famous Collège de France. Then, in 1987, he won the Nobel Prize with Donald Cram and Charles Pedersen for his work on cryptands.
Cultural Impact
In 1987, a famous composer named Pierre Boulez wrote a short piano piece. He dedicated this music to Jean-Marie Lehn to celebrate his Nobel Prize win.
Personal Life
Jean-Marie Lehn married Sylvie Lederer in 1965. They have two sons, David and Mathias. Lehn is an atheist.
Awards and Honors
Jean-Marie Lehn has received many awards and honors throughout his career.
French Awards
- CNRS Gold medal (1981)
- Knight of the Ordre des Palmes académiques (1989)
- Officer of the Ordre national du Mérite (1993)
- Grand Officer of the Légion d'Honneur (2014)
Other International Awards
- Elected a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences (1980)
- Humboldt Prize (1983)
- Elected a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (1983)
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1987)
- Pour le Mérite (1990)
- Foreign Member of the Royal Society (1993)
- The Davy Medal of the Royal Society (1997)
- Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (2001)
- Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2009)
- Order of the Rising Sun (Gold and Silver Star) of Japan (2019)
Honorary Degrees
Lehn has received many honorary doctorates from universities around the world. As of 2006, he had received 25 such degrees. Some of the universities that have honored him include:
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1984)
- Autonomous University of Madrid (1985)
- Georg-August University of Göttingen (1987)
- Charles University of Prague (1990)
- University of Sheffield (1991)
- University of Athens (1992)
- Illinois Wesleyan University (1995)
- Nagoya University (2000)
- University of St. Andrews (2004)
- Moscow State University (2006)
- University of Oxford (2014)
- University of Cambridge (2017)
- New York University (2017)
Images for kids
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Lehn in 2018
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A circular helical assembly reported by Jean-Marie Lehn et al. in Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1996, 35, 1838–1840.
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Crystal structure of a foldamer reported by Lehn et al. in Helv. Chim. Acta., 2003, 86, 1598–1624.
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Marie Lehn para niños
