E. J. Corey

About

Elias J. Corey is the Sheldon Emory Professor Emeritus whose research group focuses on various areas of experimental chemistry, including multi-step, mechanistic, and exploratory synthesis. His work encompasses the development and application of synthetic methods to construct complex molecules. Corey has authored several influential books, such as "The Logic of Chemical Synthesis," "Molecules and Medicine," and "Enantioselective Chemical Synthesis." The latter book provides a comprehensive and concise presentation of the most useful enantioselective processes available to synthetic chemists, discusses logical approaches to applying these methods in the synthesis of stereochemically complex molecules, and details numerous reaction sequences used to build a wide variety of complex target molecules. Over his career, Corey has published more than 1000 scientific papers between 1948 and 2010, reflecting his extensive contributions to the field of chemical synthesis.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Organic chemistry
• Information Retrieval
• Medicinal chemistry
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Computational chemistry
• Library science
• World Wide Web
• Stereochemistry

Selected publications

• A Useful Method for the Conversion of Olefins to Nitro Olefins

  Organic Letters · 2021 · 18 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  solution and serves as an effective nitrating agent for a wide range of unsaturated substrates to form nitro olefins.

  DOI

• Nitrosyl Triflate and Nitrous Anhydride, Same Mode of Generation, but Very Different Reaction Pathways. Direct Synthesis of 1,2-Oxazetes, Nitroso or Bisoxazo Compounds from Olefins

  Organic Letters · 2022 · 16 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  .

  DOI

• Highly Position- and Enantioselective Catalytic Epoxidation of Polyolefins Mediated by a Chiral Mn Complex, Including a One-Step Conversion of Squalene to the (<i>S</i>)-2,3-Epoxide, a Precursor of Natural Steroids and Terpenoids

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2025-01-06 · 11 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Reported herein is the synthesis of a novel chiral dicarboxylic ligand for Mn(II) and the application of the Mn complex to the highly enantio- and position-selective epoxidation of C═C under mild conditions, even with polyolefinic substrates. A stereomechanistic basis for asymmetric induction is suggested.

  PublisherDOI

• Unraveling the C₂-Symmetric Azatetraquinane System. Simple, Enantioselective Syntheses

  Organic Letters · 2021 · 11 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Concise stereocontrolled synthetic routes to the C2-symmetric azatetraquinane 1 (or, also, the enantiomer) are described. The successful execution of the synthesis involved innovation in the methodology for [3+2] cycloaddition and stereochemical control.

  DOI

• Synthetically Useful Transformations of Olefins via Cationic 1,2-Oxazetium Intermediates

  Organic Letters · 2023-09-21 · 4 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  donor in reactions with many olefinic substrates to form reactive, cationic 1,2-oxazetium cycloadducts that can be converted selectively into a wide range of useful products depending on reagents and conditions.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Mark C. Noe

  Pfizer (United States)

  42 shared

• Robert A. Lewis

  37 shared

• Do Hyun Ryu

  29 shared

• Sepehr Sarshar

  26 shared

• K. Frank Austen

  Harvard University

  21 shared

• K. Frank Austen

  21 shared

• C.R. Pace-Asciak

  University of Toronto

  19 shared

• Michael J. Grogan

  Eli Lilly (United States)

  18 shared

Education

• B.S., Chemistry

  University of California, Berkeley

  1954

• Ph.D., Organic Chemistry

  Harvard University

  1959

Awards & honors

• 1990 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
• U.S. National Medal of Science
• Japan Prize in Science
• Priestley Medal of the American Chemical Society

Similar researchers at Harvard University

• George Whitesidesh-241
• Stuart L. Schreiberh-214
• Daniel G. Nocerah-123