Photo: Bengt Oberger / CC BY-SA 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Sharpless sits in rare air for me: a two-time Nobel laureate, decades apart, in genuinely different territories. Chirally catalyzed oxidation in 2001 and click chemistry in 2022 aren't refinements of one idea but two separate intellectual leaps, which says something profound about how freely his mind roams. What I respect most isn't the trophy case, long as it is, but his instinct to turn chemistry into usable tools. Click chemistry now powers drug discovery and materials science worldwide. That's a scientist who didn't just publish, he reshaped how others work. I find that kind of legacy far more inspiring than any single award.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Karl Barry Sharpless
- Name (Japanese)
- バリー・シャープレス
- Reading
- ばりー・しゃーぷれす
- Born
- April 28, 1941 (age 85)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Taurus / Snake
- Origin
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- chemist / university teacher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Harvard University
Awards & achievements
- 1983 ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry,
- 1987 Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1988 Prelog Medal and Lecture
- 1991 Scheele Award
- 1992 Arthur C. Cope Award
- 1993 Centenary Prize
- 1995 King Faisal International Prize in Science
- 1998 Harvey Prize
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Karl Barry Sharpless born?
Born April 28, 1941 (age 85).
Where is Karl Barry Sharpless from?
Karl Barry Sharpless is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
What does Karl Barry Sharpless do?
Karl Barry Sharpless works as chemist, university teacher.
Chemist — see all → · University teacher — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.