Sir David William Cross MacMillan (born 16 March 1968)[2] is a Scottish[8] chemist and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry atPrinceton University, where he was also the chair of the Department of Chemistry from 2010 to 2015.[9][10] He shared the 2021Nobel Prize in Chemistry withBenjamin List "for the development of asymmetricorganocatalysis".[11] MacMillan used his share of the $1.14 million prize to establish the May and Billy MacMillan Foundation.[12]
MacMillan was born inBellshill,North Lanarkshire,Scotland, in 1968 and grew up in nearbyNew Stevenston.[13] His father was a steelworker, while his grandfather was a miner.[14] He attended the local state-funded schools, New Stevenston Primary and Bellshill Academy, and credited his Scottish education and Scottish upbringing for his success.[15][13]
He received his undergraduate degree in chemistry at theUniversity of Glasgow, where he worked with Ernie Colvin.[16][17]
In 1990, he left the UK to begin his doctoral studies under the direction of ProfessorLarry Overman at theUniversity of California, Irvine. During this time, he focused on the development of new reaction methodology directed toward the stereocontrolled formation of bicyclictetrahydrofurans. MacMillan's graduate studies culminated in the total synthesis of7-(−)-deacetoxyalcyonin acetate, a eunicellinditerpenoid isolated from the soft coralEunicella stricta.[18] He earned his Ph.D. in 1996.[17]
Upon receiving his Ph.D., MacMillan accepted a postdoctoral position with ProfessorDavid Evans atHarvard University. His postdoctoral studies centered on enantioselective catalysis, in particular, the design and development ofSn(II)-derivedbisoxazoline complexes (Sn(II)box).[17]
MacMillan began his independent research career as a member of the chemistry faculty at theUniversity of California, Berkeley in July 1998. He joined the department of chemistry atCaltech in June 2000, where his group's research interests centered on new approaches to enantioselective catalysis. In 2004, he was appointed as theEarle C. Anthony Professor of Chemistry. He became the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor atPrinceton University in September 2006.[17]
First generation MacMillan catalyst
He is considered to be one of the founders oforganocatalysis.[19] In 2000, MacMillan designed small organic molecules that can provide or accept electrons and therefore efficiently catalyse reactions.[19][20] 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.[19] 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 products.[17][19] He developed chiralimidazolidinone catalysts.[21][20][22]MacMillan catalysts [de] are used in various asymmetric syntheses. Examples includeDiels-Alder reactions,[20]1,3-dipolar cycloadditions,[23]Friedel-Crafts alkylations[24] orMichael additions.[22]
MacMillan has also extensively developed photoredox catalysis for use in organic synthesis.[25][26][27]
Between 2010 and 2014, MacMillan was the founding editor-in-chief of the journalChemical Science, the flagship general chemistry journal published by theRoyal Society of Chemistry.[17]
^abcAhrendt, 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.Bibcode:2000JAChS.122.4243A.doi:10.1021/ja000092s.ISSN0002-7863.
^"David MacMillan".Princeton University Department of Chemistry. 21 July 2014. Archived fromthe original on 7 October 2021. Retrieved7 October 2021.
