George Parshall
| George W. Parshall | |
|---|---|
 George Parshall in late 1980 | |
| Born |
September 19, 1929 Hackensack, Minnesota |
| Nationality | USA |
| Fields | Organometallic Chemistry |
| Institutions | DuPont Central Research |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota, University of Illinois |
| Thesis | (1963) |
| Doctoral advisor | Reynold C. Fuson |
| Known for | organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis |
| Influenced | Richard Schrock, Frederick N Tebbe |
George W. Parshall (born September 19, 1929) is a distinguished member of the organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis communities and has played a key role in advising the U.S. Army in its ongoing effort to safely destroy chemical weapons.
Born in Hackensack, Minnesota, Parshall received a Bachelor of Science degree with highest distinction from the University of Minnesota in 1951. He received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1954 under the direction of Reynold C. Fuson. In 1954, he joined Central Research Department of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company at the Experimental Station, where he rose to Director of Chemical Sciences. He took two industrial sabbaticals, one at Imperial College London in 1960-61 and another at University of Oxford in 1986. He was a visiting Ipatieff Lecturer at Northwestern University of the fall of 1994. Parshall is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Lambda Upsilon and Sigma Xi. He married Naomi B. Simpson on October 9, 1954.
Parshall is best known for the direction he provided in the development of organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis.[1] He directed the work of 50 to 100 DuPont scientists, including that of Fred Tebbe[2] and Dick Schrock who received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to the metathesis method in organic chemistry. The activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds played an important role throughout his career.[3][4][5][6] He was a pioneer in the use of molten salts in catalysis[7][8] and initiated some of the earliest work on organolanthanide chemistry.[9] His early work on biomimetics led the way for much to come.[10] He was most closely associated with the DuPont processes for making critical polymer intermediates used in producing nylon and polyester and spandex. Parshall coauthored the definitive textbook on “Homogeneous Catalysis” with Steven Ittel.[11] Parshall also directed the creation of alternatives to the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in refrigerators and air conditioners that were shown to contribute to the destruction of the atmosphere’s ozone layer that protects us from damaging solar radiation.
When Parshall retired from DuPont in 1992, he joined the effort to destroy chemical weapon stockpiles in the United States and across the world. As a member of the National Research Council’s “Stockpile Committee,” he has played a key role in advising the U.S. Army in its ongoing effort to safely destroy chemical weapons.[12] The Chemical Weapons Convention called for the destruction of these chemicals, which generally fell into three types. There was mustard gas, the devastating chemical that left many blinded and scarred in World War I. The stockpile also contained two types of nerve toxins—VX and Sarin, which send the nervous system into overload, shutting down the respiratory system. Parshall has been an advisor on “neutralization” processes used to destroy these chemical weapons, which involve more chemistry than does the alternative, incineration.
Parshall is a member of the Guild of Scholars of The Episcopal Church.
References
- ↑ Making pharmaceuticals via homogeneous catalysis. Part 1, Parshall, George W.; Nugent, William A., CHEMTECH (1988), 18(3), 184-90.
- ↑ Olefin homologation with titanium methylene compounds, Tebbe, F. N.; Parshall, G. W.; Reddy, G. S. Journal of the American Chemical Society (1978), 100(11), 3611-13.
- ↑ σ-Alkyl and -aryl complexes of the group 4-7 transition metals, Schrock, R. R.; Parshall, G. W. Chemical Reviews (Washington, DC, United States) (1976), 76(2), 243-68.
- ↑ Homogeneous catalytic activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds, Parshall, George W. Accounts of Chemical Research (1975), 8(4), 113-17.
- ↑ σ-Aryl compounds of nickel, palladium, and platinum. Synthesis and bonding studies, Parshall, G. W. Journal of the American Chemical Society (1974), 96(8), 2360-6.
- ↑ Catalysis of aromatic hydrogen-deuterium exchange by metal hydrides, Barefield, E. Kent; Parshall, G. W.; Tebbe, F. N., Journal of the American Chemical Society (1970), 92(17), 5234-5.
- ↑ Catalysis by dispersions of metal halides in molten trihalostannate (II) and trihalogermanate (II) salts, Parshall, George W. U.S. (1975), US 3919271 A 19751111.
- ↑ Catalysis in molten salt media, Parshall, George W. Journal of the American Chemical Society (1972), 94(25), 8716-19.
- ↑ Organolanthanides in catalysis, Watson, Patricia L.; Parshall, George W. Accounts of Chemical Research (1985), 18(2), 51-6.
- ↑ Bioinorganic chemistry of dinitrogen fixation, Hardy, R. W. F.; Burns, R. C.; Parshall, G. W. Inorg. Biochem. (1973), 2, 745-93.
- ↑ Homogeneous Catalysis, 2nd Edition. The Applications and Chemistry of Catalysis by Soluble Transition Metal Complexes Full Text By Parshall, George W.; Ittel, Steven D. Wiley Interscience (1992), 342 pp.
- ↑ Impact of scientific developments on the Chemical Weapons Convention (IUPAC Technical Report), Parshall, George W.; Pearson, Graham S.; Inch, Thomas D.; Becker, Edwin D.; IUPAC Commission, Pure and Applied Chemistry (2002), 74(12), 2323-2352.