David MacMillan

Sir David William Cross MacMillan (born 16 March

Professor
1968)[2] is a Scottish[8] chemist and the James S.
McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Sir David MacMillan
FRS FRSE
Chemistry at Princeton University, where he was also
the chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2010 to
2015.[9][10] He shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry with Benjamin List "for the development of
asymmetric organocatalysis".[11] MacMillan used his
share of the $1.14 million prize to establish the May
and Billy MacMillan Foundation.[12]

Education and early life

MacMillan was born in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire,
Scotland, in 1968 and grew up in nearby New
MacMillan in 2021
Stevenston.[13] He attended the local state-funded
Born David William Cross
schools, New Stevenston Primary and Bellshill
MacMillan
Academy, and credited his Scottish education and
16 March 1968
Scottish upbringing for his success.[14][13]
Bellshill, Scotland, United
He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Kingdom
the University of Glasgow, where he worked with Citizenship United Kingdom
Ernie Colvin.[15][16] United States[1]
Education Bellshill Academy
In 1990, he left the UK to begin his doctoral studies
Alma mater University of Glasgow (BSc)
under the direction of Professor Larry Overman at the
University of California, Irvine. During this time, he University of California,
Irvine (MSc, PhD)
focused on the development of new reaction
methodology directed toward the stereocontrolled Awards Corday-Morgan medal
formation of bicyclic tetrahydrofurans. MacMillan's Member of the National
graduate studies culminated in the total synthesis of Academy of Sciences
7-(−)-deacetoxyalcyonin acetate, a eunicellin (2018)
diterpenoid isolated from the soft coral Eunicella Nobel Prize in Chemistry
stricta.[17] He earned his Ph.D. in 1996.[16] (2021)
Scientific career
Institutions Princeton University
Career and research California Institute of
Technology
Upon receiving his Ph.D., MacMillan accepted a University of California,
postdoctoral position with Professor David Evans at Irvine
Harvard University. His postdoctoral studies centered University of California,
on enantioselective catalysis, in particular, the design Berkeley
and development of Sn(II)-derived bisoxazoline Harvard University
complexes (Sn(II)box).[16]
Thesis Stereocontrolled formation
MacMillan began his independent research career as a of bicyclic tetrahydrofurans
member of the chemistry faculty at the University of and Enantioselective total
California, Berkeley in July 1998. He joined the synthesis of eunicellin
department of chemistry at Caltech in June 2000, diterpenes (https://www.proq
where his group's research interests centered on new uest.com/docview/30422571
approaches to enantioselective catalysis. In 2004, he 0/) (1996)
was appointed as the Earle C. Anthony Professor of Doctoral Larry E. Overman
Chemistry. He became the James S. McDonnell advisor
Distinguished University Professor at Princeton Other academic Ernest W. Colvin
University in September 2006.[16] advisors David A. Evans

He is considered to be one of the founders of Doctoral Vy Dong, Tehshik Yoon,

organocatalysis. [18] In 2000, MacMillan designed students Robert R. Knowles
small organic molecules that can provide or accept
electrons and therefore efficiently catalyse reactions.[18][19] He
developed catalysts that can drive asymmetric catalysis, in which a
reaction produces more of the left-handed version of a molecule
than the right-handed one (chirality), or vice versa.[18]
MacMillan's research group has made many advances in the field
of asymmetric organocatalysis, and they have applied these new
methods to the synthesis of a range of complex natural First generation MacMillan catalyst

products.[16][18] He developed chiral imidazolidinone

catalysts.[20][19][21] MacMillan catalysts are used in various asymmetric syntheses. Examples include
Diels-Alder reactions,[19] 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions,[22] Friedel-Crafts alkylations[23] or Michael
additions.[21]

MacMillan has also extensively developed photoredox catalysis for use in organic synthesis.[24][25][26]

Between 2010 and 2014, MacMillan was the founding editor-in-chief of the journal Chemical Science,
the flagship general chemistry journal published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.[16]

As of March 2024, MacMillan has an h-index of 125 according to Google Scholar[27] and of 115
according to Scopus.[28]

Visit to Brasil
In April 2024, David MacMillan was in Brazil for events at the State University of Rio de Janeiro and the
University of São Paulo.[29] In Rio, MacMillan asked to visit the headquarters of General Severiano, from
Botafogo, and was received by the Club's board of directors.[30] Later in São Paulo, MacMillan held a
short panel at University of São Paulo Chemistry Institute (IQ-USP) about his history as a researcher and
recent Nobel laureate. In September 2024, he will attend the Brazilian Meeting on Organic Synthesis in
Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul, as opening lecture.

Honours and awards

MacMillan was knighted in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to chemistry and science.[31][32]

2002 – Sloan Research Fellowship[33]

2004 – Corday-Morgan medal of Royal Institute of Chemistry[34]
2012 – Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)[35][36]
2012 – Elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences[37]
2013 – Elected a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE)[38]
2015 – Harrison Howe Award[39]
2017 – Ryoji Noyori Prize[40]
2018 – Elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences[16]
2021 – Nobel Prize in Chemistry[11]
2024 - Honorary Ph.D, North Carolina State University[41]

List
List of Nobel laureates affiliated with Princeton University
List of Nobel laureates

References
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news/2021/10/06/princetons-david-macmillan-receives-nobel-prize-chemistry). Princeton
University. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
2. "David W.C. MacMillan" (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2021/macmillan/fact
s/). Nobel Foundation. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
3. "David MacMillan: 'Being Scottish helped me win Nobel Prize' " (https://www.bbc.com/news/
uk-scotland-58828279). BBC News. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
4. Paterson, Laura (6 October 2021). "Scottish scientist jointly wins Nobel Prize in chemistry"
(https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/nobel-prize-scottish-german-princeton-university-chem
istry-b959099.html). www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
5. "Chemistry Nobel awarded for mirror-image molecules" (https://www.bbc.com/news/science-
environment-58814418). BBC News. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
6. Russell, Jennifer (6 October 2021). "Scots scientist wins Nobel Prize for chemistry" (https://
www.dailyrecord.co.uk/scotland-now/scots-scientist-wins-nobel-prize-25151568). Daily
Record. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
7. "Scottish scientist jointly wins Nobel Prize in chemistry" (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/scottish-
scientist-jointly-wins-nobel-120108141.html). uk.news.yahoo.com. 6 October 2021.
Retrieved 8 October 2021.
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 9. "The MacMillan Group" (https://web.archive.org/web/20200721171049/http://chemlabs.princ
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10. "David MacMillan" (https://www.organicdivision.org/eminentorganicchemists/david-macmilla
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11. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2021" (https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2021/sum
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12. Service, Purdue News (23 January 2023). "David MacMillan, the 2021 Nobel laureate in
chemistry, to join President Chiang for Presidential Lecture Series on Feb. 13" (https://www.
purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2023/Q1/david-macmillan,-the-2021-nobel-laureate-in-chem
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www.purdue.edu. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
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uk-scotland-58828279). BBC News. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
14. "Success wouldn't have happened if I wasn't Scottish, says Bellshill-born Nobel Prize
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lan-success-wouldnt-happened-wasnt-scottish/). HeraldScotland. 7 October 2021. Retrieved
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15. "Bellshill man and former Glasgow University student David WC MacMillan wins the Nobel
prize for chemistry" (https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19630090.bellshill-man-former-gl
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16. "David MacMillan" (http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/20044093.html).
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17. MacMillan, David William Cross (1996). Stereocontrolled formation of bicyclic
tetrahydrofurans; and, Enantioselective total synthesis of eunicellin diterpenes (Ph.D.
thesis). University of California, Irvine. OCLC 35966904 (https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/35
966904). ProQuest 304225710 (https://www.proquest.com/docview/304225710).
18. Castelvecchi, Davide; Stoye, Emma (6 October 2021). " 'Elegant' catalysts that tell left from
right scoop chemistry Nobel" (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-021-02704-2). Nature. 598
(7880). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 247–248.
Bibcode:2021Natur.598..247C (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021Natur.598..247C).
doi:10.1038/d41586-021-02704-2 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fd41586-021-02704-2).
ISSN 0028-0836 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). PMID 34616090 (https://pub
med.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34616090). S2CID 238422185 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Corpu
sID:238422185).
19. Ahrendt, Kateri A.; Borths, Christopher J.; MacMillan, David W. C. (15 April 2000). "New
Strategies for Organic Catalysis: The First Highly Enantioselective Organocatalytic
Diels−Alder Reaction". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 122 (17). American
Chemical Society (ACS): 4243–4244. doi:10.1021/ja000092s (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fja
000092s). ISSN 0002-7863 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0002-7863).
20. "David MacMillan" (https://web.archive.org/web/20211007050724/https://chemistry.princeto
n.edu/faculty/david-macmillan). Princeton University Department of Chemistry. 21 July
2014. Archived from the original (https://chemistry.princeton.edu/faculty/david-macmillan) on
7 October 2021. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
21. Paras, Nick A.; MacMillan, David W. C. (12 June 2002). "The Enantioselective
Organocatalytic 1,4-Addition of Electron-Rich Benzenes to α,β-Unsaturated Aldehydes" (http
s://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170414-104130125). Journal of the American
Chemical Society. 124 (27). American Chemical Society (ACS): 7894–7895.
doi:10.1021/ja025981p (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fja025981p). ISSN 0002-7863 (https://se
arch.worldcat.org/issn/0002-7863). PMID 12095321 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12095
321).
22. Jen, Wendy S.; Wiener, John J. M.; MacMillan, David W. C. (26 September 2000). "New
Strategies for Organic Catalysis: The First Enantioselective Organocatalytic 1,3-Dipolar
Cycloaddition" (https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170406-070216339).
Journal of the American Chemical Society. 122 (40). American Chemical Society (ACS):
9874–9875. doi:10.1021/ja005517p (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fja005517p). ISSN 0002-
7863 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0002-7863).
23. Paras, Nick A.; MacMillan, David W. C. (13 April 2001). "New Strategies in Organic
Catalysis: The First Enantioselective Organocatalytic Friedel−Crafts Alkylation" (https://resol
ver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20170411-120017472). Journal of the American
Chemical Society. 123 (18). American Chemical Society (ACS): 4370–4371.
doi:10.1021/ja015717g (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fja015717g). ISSN 0002-7863 (https://se
arch.worldcat.org/issn/0002-7863). PMID 11457218 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11457
218).
24. Prier, Christopher K.; Rankic, Danica A.; MacMillan, David W. C. (19 March 2013). "Visible
Light Photoredox Catalysis with Transition Metal Complexes: Applications in Organic
Synthesis" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4028850). Chemical Reviews.
113 (7): 5322–5363. doi:10.1021/cr300503r (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Fcr300503r).
ISSN 0009-2665 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0009-2665). PMC 4028850 (https://www.n
cbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4028850). PMID 23509883 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.g
ov/23509883).
25. Shaw, Megan H.; Twilton, Jack; MacMillan, David W. C. (19 August 2016). "Photoredox
Catalysis in Organic Chemistry" (https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.joc.6b01449). The Journal of
Organic Chemistry. 81 (16): 6898–6926. doi:10.1021/acs.joc.6b01449 (https://doi.org/10.10
21%2Facs.joc.6b01449). ISSN 0022-3263 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0022-3263).
PMC 4994065 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994065). PMID 27477076
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27477076).
26. Nicewicz, David A.; MacMillan, David W. C. (3 October 2008). "Merging Photoredox
Catalysis with Organocatalysis: The Direct Asymmetric Alkylation of Aldehydes" (https://ww
w.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2723798). Science. 322 (5898): 77–80.
Bibcode:2008Sci...322...77N (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2008Sci...322...77N).
doi:10.1126/science.1161976 (https://doi.org/10.1126%2Fscience.1161976). PMC 2723798
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2723798). PMID 18772399 (https://pubmed.
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publications indexed by the Scopus bibliographic database. (subscription required)
29. "Nobel Prize Dialogue – Criando nosso futuro junto com a ciência" (https://brazil.nobelprized
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(in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
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32. Newsroom, The (8 June 2022). "Nobel prize winning chemist from Bellshill has now been
knighted by the Queen" (https://www.glasgowworld.com/education/nobel-prize-winner-david-
macmillan-from-bellshill-has-been-knighted-by-the-queen-3724790). GlasgowWorld.
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33. "MacMillan Awarded Sloan Research Fellowship" (https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/mac
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34. "Caltech Faculty Awards and Honors 2004–2005" (https://web.archive.org/web/2011081113
3849/http://annual-report.caltech.edu/documents/21-ar_04_05_awards.pdf) (PDF).
California Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (http://annual-report.caltech.ed
u/documents/21-ar_04_05_awards.pdf) (PDF) on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
35. "New Fellows 2012" (http://royalsociety.org/about-us/fellowship/new-fellows-2012/). Royal
Society. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
36. "Sir David MacMillan's Royal Society Fellowship Biography" (https://royalsociety.org/people/
david-macmillan-11867/). The Royal Society. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
37. "David W.C. MacMillan" (https://www.amacad.org/person/david-wc-macmillan). American
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38. "Professor David William Cross MacMillan FRS, CorrFRSE – The Royal Society of
Edinburgh" (https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/david-macmillan/). The Royal Society of
Edinburgh. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
39. "Past Recipients of the Harrison Howe Award" (https://www.sas.rochester.edu/chm/howe/pa
st.html). Retrieved 7 October 2021.
40. "The Society of SynthRyoji Noyori Prize Recipients" (https://web.archive.org/web/20171022
150852/https://www.ssocj.jp/english/NoyoriPrize/recipients.html). www.ssocj.jp (in
Japanese). Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan. Archived from the original (http
s://www.ssocj.jp/english/NoyoriPrize/recipients.html) on 22 October 2017. Retrieved
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41. "MacMillan To Laud Graduates' Resilience" (https://news.ncsu.edu/2024/05/macmillan-to-la
ud-graduates-resilience/). NC State News. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2024.

External links
David MacMillan (https://www.nobelprize.org/laureate/1003) on Nobelprize.org

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