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2021 Nobel Prize Winners' Contributions to the World, Chemistry Prize and the ending, Part 6-6
December 15,2021
Austin Kuan
The 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (known as COP26) took place in Glasgow, Scotland from October 31 to November 13, 2021. It was co-organized by the governments of the United Kingdom and Italy. After many days of intense discussion and communication, the meeting passed the “Glasgow Climate Convention”, on November 13, 2021, requiring the continuation of the Paris Agreement, which requires the goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and the gradual reduction of coal use. Furthermore, in accordance with the 2020 standard, annual methane emissions will be reduced by 30% by 2030.
Everyone is concerned about climate change because carbon dioxide and methane continue to raise the world's average temperature, but if we look deeper, it means that the world will use cleaner energy in the future, and all chemical wastes can be decomposed or reused. Consider which field of scholarship has more and newer research to contribute. It is scholars of chemistry, obviously.
Alfred Nobel was a chemist himself. The mission of the chemist in his time was to “explore the unknown,” but for chemists in 2021, the mission is to “save the earth.” The earth's overall average temperature can be controlled to stop rising, implying that the earth has become cleaner. The dark carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere has dissipated, the massive plastic waste can be decomposed, and more chemical solvents can be recycled. Chemists must promise a clean and promising future for the world, or else the planet will face disaster.
In this context, the German scholar Benjamin List and the Scottish-born American scholar David MacMillan shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of their contributions to the development of “a construction tool of novel and ingenious molecules—asymmetric organic catalysis.” The two men's “organic catalysis” has opened a new chapter in research, enough to bring about major changes in the pharmaceutical industry and make the chemical industry more environmental friendly.
To put it simply, there were only two catalysts used in chemical and pharmaceutical research in the past: metals and enzymes. In 2000, the two independent researchers developed the third catalytic method at the same time, without relying on biological enzymes or heavy metal-based compounds, so that many steps in the manufacturing process do not have to be interrupted and waste in the chemical production process is greatly reduced. This new-generation catalyst is not only more environmentally friendly but also less expensive to manufacture.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences issued the following statement: “Organic catalysts can be used to catalyze a wide range of chemical reactions. Researchers can now build anything more efficiently using these reactions, from new drugs to molecules that can capture light in solar cells.” When I read carefully, I discover that the new catalysts are all about environmental protection and new energy issues, which perfectly meet the needs of COP26.
MacMillan is a Princeton University professor, and List is the director of the German Max Planck Institute. Both are 53 years old and are considering the same research method in different countries, which sounds incredible but is common in academia.
When many people think of high technology today, they think of “physics” or “engineering,” but unless these two are supported by “mathematics” and “chemistry,” they are nothing more than a show. Take, for example, TSMC, a semiconductor wafer foundry in Taiwan. Because of its precision manufacturing process, the final product can be displayed on Apple mobile phones or military missiles. However, it takes a lot of solvent to etch or clean a chip during the manufacturing process. In other words, because the chemical process is such an important part of TSMC's foundry, there are many chemists or chemical staff on the production line. It would be impossible to complete the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and perfumes without the full input of chemists.
However, when we look back over the last century, the development of the chemical industry has been a mixed blessing. What's encouraging is that the ease of human life has greatly improved. The advancement of the petrochemical industry alone has enabled ordinary people to drive automobiles, and plastic products have become various necessities in people's lives. Furthermore, a plethora of cosmetics makes women more beautiful, and they are becoming increasingly conscious of the importance of maintenance. However, chemically flavored beverages and foods continue to be produced, and humans continue to consume more compounds into their stomachs. Worse, chemical wastewater is constantly discharged into rivers, lakes, and the sea, and gases containing toxic chemical components continue to spread into the atmosphere. The beautiful blue earth is gradually being poisoned as a result of the chemical industry's overdevelopment.
Humans have been harmed by the misuse of chemistry, and researchers or scholars who have been exposed to chemicals for a long time are also harming their health over time, which may even affect his ability to think. Three of the seven Nobel Prize winners who later committed suicide are literary prize winners, as discussed in the previous article. Another three are chemistry prize winners: German scholar Hermann Fischer, who won in 1902, German scholar Hans Fischer, who won in 1930, and American scholar John Northrop, who won in 1946. This raises the question of whether their suicide was related to the early laboratories' inadequate safety protection measures, which caused them to suffer invisible harm from chemical poisoning.
Just as Alfred Nobel regretted not being able to give the world peace because he invented explosives, chemists now want to give humanity a cleaner world. As a result, the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to researchers who can improve the environmental friendliness of chemical experiments' catalytic processes. Climate change is now a reality for the entire world. If academics can improve “Carbon Capture” technology in the future, I believe they will be popular candidates for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Six Nobel Prizes are usually awarded to more than a dozen people each year. It was also a glorious moment in their lives when they learned of the award. The greatest significance of the Nobel Prize, however, is that the winners have contributed to the world and made it a better place. The Nobel Prize differs from the Olympic Games in that no one knows when they will be awarded the prize after silently working for decades. As a result, he cannot see the competitors, and there is no “competition” in his heart. He is either exploring the mysteries of the world he does not yet know, or pursuing a world that is more exciting to look forward to; on the other hand, the Olympic athletes are the winners determined by competition. Because there is no deception or consideration of national interests, the Nobel Prize is more global than the Olympic gold medal and even more contributory than the United Nations.
To summarize, while the Nobel Prize is occasionally contentious, it is widely regarded as the “cleanest” international affirmation, and it is difficult to find a second prize with the same status. The Academy Awards are owned by the United States, World Cup football matches are owned by Europe, Central and South America, and the Nobel Prize is owned by all of humanity. If Alfred Nobel could return to the world, he would be overjoyed that the Nobel Prize has given people hope, peace, and innocence. Despite the fact that the world has always been moving forward in the entanglement of various countries' interests, we have seen scholars continue to work hard in physics, chemistry, physiology, and medicine as a result of the Nobel Prize. We have seen economists and mathematicians continue to search for a self-interested and altruistic economic model for humanity. We can see that many people are working for global peace, overcoming racial and age barriers. It turns out that if we take a serious look at the Nobel Prize winning content, we will see that it reveals a clean and promising future for the world. Thank you, Alfred Nobel.