Structures and mechanisms in chemical reactions: George A. Olah’s life-long search of chemistry

Abstract

The Hungarian-born American chemistry Nobel laureate George A. Olah used superacids to give longer life to carbocations. He resolved a long-standing debate on reaction mechanism in organic chemistry and, more importantly, opened new vistas in hydrocarbon chemistry to produce hosts of new compounds. The concerted utilization of organic synthesis, physical techniques, and computational methods led to spectacular achievements in hydrocarbon chemistry. Olah has always been on the lookout for the practical applications of his discoveries in fundamental chemistry. He continued his research after his Nobel award and has worked out the idea, which he labeled ''the methanol economy.'' Olah's example shows that a great researcher can also be a devoted and caring human being.

Special issue: honoring George A. Olah at 90

“…He has also worked with many associates from diverse areas both geographically and scientifically. A more extended paper about George A. Olah, his life and science, is the next Editorial in this issue [1]. We are gratified that the contributors of the papers in this collection represent laboratories in Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the USA.…”

Reminiscing about Ron Gillespie

“…In research, Ron made great strides in super acid research. In this, there was considerable overlap with the future Nobel laureate George Olah (1927-2017) [9]. Olah was a refugee scientist from Hungary at the end of 1956, following the ruthless suppression of the anti-Soviet revolution.…”

The human side in Structural Chemistry—a survey of 30 years

“…George A. Olah (1927-2017), a recent immigrant from Hungary, was that young chemist [33]. He gave longer life to the reaction intermediates by stabilizing them with the help of some extremely strong acids-superacids-and decided the long-lasting debate.…”