Ronald Ernest Grigg. 1 September 1935—10 January 2021

Abstract

Ron Grigg left an indelible mark on heterocyclic chemistry, especially through his pioneering 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions and palladium-catalysed cyclizations. Although he worked with a broad range of organic and organometallic compounds, he was most closely associated with innovations in the synthesis and properties of pyrrole and pyrrolidine derivatives throughout his career. His products and methodologies not only inspired numerous academic laboratories, they also enabled many developments in the pharmaceutical, forensic, environmental and sensing sectors. He established the Queen's University Environmental Science and Technology (QUESTOR) Centre and the Molecular Innovation, Diversity and Automated Synthesis (MIDAS) Centre at the University of Leeds. His spin-out company, Lumichem Ltd, commercialized his chemistry for visualizing latent fingerprints.