Elias Corey

The world's greatest living chemist, Elias Corey, is one of the great pioneers of modern science. In 1990 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis," specifically retrosynthetic analysis. Before Corey's work, chemists synthesized compounds one by one, by trial and error. Corey established general rules that can be applied to the synthesis of any organic substance. Born to a family of Lebanese immigrants in Methuen, Massachusetts, his father died when he was 18 months old, and his mother struggled through the Depression to raise him and his brother and sisters in the home of his aunt and uncle. After earning a Ph.D. in chemistry from MIT at age 22, he taught chemistry at the University of Illinois, where he became a full Professor the age of 27. Three years later, he moved to Harvard University, where he is now an Emeritus Professor of Organic Chemistry and heads the renowned Corey Group research program. In the late '60s, his group created the first synthetic prostaglandins, the proteins that regulate the functions of the heart, brain, kidneys, stomachs and other organs. His work has enabled the creation of purer drugs with reduced side effects. In 1988, he was awarded the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor awarded to scientists. In this address to the Academy of Achievement, recorded during the 1991 Summit in New York City, he discusses the confluence of recent developments in chemistry, physics, biology, computer science and electronics. He also shares with the Academy's student delegates his fascination with chemistry and its application to health and human relationships.