Nobel-Winning Organic Chemist Woodward Dies

Robert Burns Woodward, Donner Professor of Science and a recipient of the 1965 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, died Sunday of a heart attack at the age of 62.

"He was the world's foremost organic chemist," Elkan R. Blout, Harkness Professor of Biological Chemistry, said yesterday.

"In my mind he was one of the greatest organic chemists that ever lived," Max Tischler, professor of organic chemistry at Wesleyan University, said yesterday.

He was the first chemist to simplify the synthesis of complicated organic compounds and to make possible the synthesis of chemicals before found only in nature, Tischler said.

"That he was ingenious in so many facets of chemistry is what makes him unique," Tischler added.

Woodward received his Nobel Prize for his work on the art of organic synthesis and the "development and application of new techniques to a degree that no one had ever done before," Blout said.

Blout said Woodward helped bridge the gap between physical and organic chemistry.

Woodward's work made possible the synthesis of complicated organic molecules such as chlorophyll and vitamin B-12.

"Woodward looked on it as a personal challenge and game to synthesize the most complicated materials possible," Blout said.

Tischler said he opened a way for a more rational, less empirical approach to teaching chemistry.

"Woodward was the closest to a true genius I have ever known," Blout said. "He had a clarity of thinking and an ability to see to an objective that is the characteristic of true genius. It is quite possible that if he had lived he would have won or shared a second Nobel Prize."

Great Loss

"He has touched so much in chemistry and touched it well that the world and Harvard will be at a loss," Tischler said. "He was not only a tremendous scientist but a very warm person," he added.

"He opened the way for organic chemists to synthesize a vast array of complex compounds of both intellectual and pharmaceutical interest," Westheimer added.

Woodward is survived by four children. The funeral will be private. A memorial service open to the public is planned for the fall.