John E. McMurry

Infobox_Scientist
name = John E. McMurry


image_width =
caption = John E. McMurry
birth_date = birth date and age|1942|6|27
birth_place = New York City, United States
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nationality = American
death_date =
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field =
work_institution = University of California, Santa Cruz,
Cornell University
alma_mater = Harvard University A.B. 1964
Columbia University Ph.D. 1967
doctoral_advisor =
doctoral_students =
known_for = McMurry reaction
prizes =
religion =
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John E. McMurry, born July 27, 1942, in New York City, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology [McMurry faculty website at Cornell [http://www.chem.cornell.edu/faculty/index.asp?fac=38] ] at Cornell University. He received his Ph.D. working with Gilbert Stork. Following completion of his Ph.D., he joined the faculty of the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1967 and then moved to Cornell University in 1980.

Contributions

The author of more than 100 research papers, Professor McMurry is best known scientifically for his development of the McMurry reaction, in which two molecules of ketone or aldehyde are coupled to give an alkene when treated with titanium(III) chloride and a reducing agent such as Zn(Cu). The reaction has been widely used by the chemical community in the laboratory synthesis of many complex organic molecules. McMurry was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1985 and received a Max Planck Society Research Award in 1991.

In addition to his scientific work, McMurry is the author of numerous undergraduate chemistry textbooks. More than 2.2 million copies of his books in eleven languages have been used throughout the world. Among his current texts are:

* "Organic Chemistry (7th edition)" [McMurry, J. (2008). "Organic Chemistry, 7th edition." Cengage Learning. [ISBN 0-495-11258-5] , [ISBN 978-0-495 11258-7] [http://academic.cengage.com/cengage/instructor.do?topicid=2C0E&sortby=copy&type=all_radio&courseid=CH08&product_isbn=9780495112587&disciplinenumber=12] ]
* "Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry (6th edition)" [ McMurry, J., Simanek, E. (2007). "Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry, 6th edition." Cengage Learning. [ISBN 0-495-01203-3] [http://academic.cengage.com/cengage/instructor.do?topicid=2C0E&sortby=copy&type=all_radio&courseid=CH08&product_isbn=9780495012030&disciplinenumber=12] ]
* "Organic Chemistry: A Biological Approach" [McMurry, J. (2007). "Organic Chemistry: A Biological Approach." Cengage Learning. [ISBN 0-495-15669-8] [http://academic.cengage.com/cengage/student.do?product_isbn=0495015253&disciplinenumber=12] ]
* "The Organic Chemistry of Biological Pathways" [McMurry, J., Begley, T. (2005). "The Organic Chemistry of Biological Pathways". Roberts and Company. [ISBN 0-9747077-1-6] [http://www.roberts-publishers.com/mcmurry/] ]
* "Chemistry (5th edition)" [McMurry, J. E., Fay, R. C. (2008). "Chemistry, 5th edition." Prentice–Hall. [ISBN 978-0-199323-5] , [ISBN 0-13-199323-2] [http://vig.prenhall.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0131993232,00.html] ]
* "General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry (5th edition)" [McMurry, J., Castellion, M. E., Ballantine, D. S. (2007). "General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry". Prentice–Hall. [ISBN 0-13-187748-8] [http://vig.prenhall.com/catalog/academic/product/0,1144,0131877488,00.html] ]

References