Jean-Pierre Sauvage facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jean-Pierre Sauvage
|
|
|---|---|
.jpg)
Sauvage at Nobel press conference in Stockholm, Sweden, December 2016
|
|
| Born | 21 October 1944 Paris, France
|
| Nationality | French |
| Education | ECPM Strasbourg |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | coordination chemistry, supramolecular chemistry |
| Institutions | Strasbourg University |
| Thesis | Les Diaza-polyoxa-macrobicycles et leur cryptates (1971) |
| Doctoral advisor | Jean-Marie Lehn |
Jean-Pierre Sauvage (born 21 October 1944) is a famous French scientist. He is a chemist who studies tiny molecules. He works at Strasbourg University.
He graduated from the National School of Chemistry of Strasbourg in 1967. This school is now called ECPM Strasbourg. Sauvage is an expert in supramolecular chemistry. This is a field where scientists build complex structures from molecules. He won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his amazing work. He shared the prize with Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa.
Contents
Life and Education
Sauvage was born in Paris, France, in 1944. He earned his PhD degree from the Université Louis-Pasteur. His teacher was Jean-Marie Lehn, who also won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1987. During his studies, Sauvage helped create special molecules called cryptands.
After finishing his PhD, he did more research with another scientist, Malcolm L. H. Green. Then, he returned to Strasbourg. He is now a professor there, but he is retired.
Building Molecular Machines
Sauvage's scientific work focuses on creating molecules. These molecules can act like tiny machines. They can change their shape or move when they get a signal. Imagine a machine so small you cannot even see it!
His Nobel Prize-winning work happened in 1983. He was the first to create a catenane. A catenane is a special molecule made of two rings. These rings are linked together like chains. But they are not joined by chemical bonds. Instead, they are linked mechanically. This means the rings can move freely around each other.
Because these two rings can move, scientists saw this as a big step. It was a vital first step towards making molecular machines. The other two scientists who shared the Nobel Prize with Sauvage continued this work. They later created other types of molecular machines. These included a rotaxane and a molecular rotor.
Sauvage has also researched other topics. These include turning carbon dioxide into other things. He also studied models of how photosynthesis works in plants.
Molecular Topology
A big part of Sauvage's work is about molecular topology. This means studying how molecules are shaped and linked. He has found ways to create mechanically-interlocked molecular architectures. These are molecules that are linked together without sharing atoms.
He has described how to make catenanes and molecular knots. These are complex structures based on how atoms are arranged.
Awards and Recognition
Jean-Pierre Sauvage was chosen as a member of the French Academy of Sciences in 1990. He became a full member in 1997. He is currently a retired professor at the University of Strasbourg.
He shared the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The prize was given "for the design and synthesis of molecular machines." He shared it with Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa. In 2019, he was also chosen as a foreign associate of the US National Academy of Sciences.
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Pierre Sauvage para niños
