George Parshall

Who is George Parshall?

George W. Parshall is a distinguished member of the organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis communities and has played a key role in advising the U.S. Army in its ongoing effort to safely destroy chemical weapons.

Born in Hackensack, Minnesota, Parshall received a Bachelor of Science degree with highest distinction from the University of Minnesota in 1951. He received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1954 under the direction of Reynold C. Fuson. In 1954, he joined Central Research Department of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company at the Experimental Station, where he rose to Director of Chemical Sciences. He took two industrial sabbaticals, one at Imperial College London in 1960-61 and another at University of Oxford in 1986. He was a visiting Ipatieff Lecturer at Northwestern University of the fall of 1994. Parshall is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the New York Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Lambda Upsilon and Sigma Xi. He married Naomi B. Simpson on October 9, 1954.

Parshall is best known for the direction he provided in the development of organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. He directed the work of 50 to 100 DuPont scientists, including that of Fred Tebbe and Dick Schrock who received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to the metathesis method in organic chemistry. The activation of carbon-hydrogen bonds played an important role throughout his career. He was a pioneer in the use of molten salts in catalysis and initiated some of the earliest work on organolanthanide chemistry. His early work on biomimetics led the way for much to come. He was most closely associated with the DuPont processes for making critical polymer intermediates used in producing nylon and polyester and spandex. Parshall coauthored the definitive textbook on “Homogeneous Catalysis” with Steven Ittel. Parshall also directed the creation of alternatives to the chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigerators and air conditioners that were shown to contribute to the destruction of the atmosphere’s ozone layer that protects us from damaging solar radiation.