Wolf Prize in Chemistry
Jewish recipients of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry documented in the ThankJews directory. Jews are about 40% of all recipients — while making up roughly 0.2% of the world's population.
25 documented recipients
Carl Djerassi1923
Chemist who first synthesized an orally active progestin, making the contraceptive pill possible.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Herman Mark1895
Chemist regarded as a father of polymer science
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
John Polanyi1929
Chemist known for reaction dynamics and chemiluminescence; Nobel Prize 1986
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Rudolph Marcus1923
Theoretical chemist whose Marcus theory explains the rates of electron transfer reactions, from corrosion to photosynthesis, and co-author of the RRKM theory of reaction rates; Nobel Prize in…
Source: Wikipedia — Rudolph Marcus / NobelPrize.org Chemistry 1992
Joshua Jortner1933
Physical chemist known for ultrafast processes and molecular clusters
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Raphael Levine1938
Theoretical chemist known for molecular reaction dynamics
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Alexander Pines1945
Physical chemist known for solid-state NMR spectroscopy
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Richard Lerner1938
Immunochemist who developed catalytic antibodies and combinatorial antibody libraries
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Gilbert Stork1921
Organic chemist renowned for advances in the total synthesis of complex molecules
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biomedical Science
Samuel Danishefsky1936
Chemist renowned for the total synthesis of complex natural products with anticancer activity.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Gabor Somorjai1935
Physical chemist, pioneer of surface science and heterogeneous catalysis
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Henri Kagan2026
Chemist, pioneer of asymmetric catalysis (DIOP, nonlinear effects); Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2026
Source: Nobel Prize Chemistry 2026 / Wikipedia — Henri B. Kagan
Richard Zare1939
Physical chemist known for laser chemistry and analytical spectroscopy
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
George Feher1924
Biophysical chemist known for ENDOR and the photosynthetic reaction center
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Ada Yonath2009
Studies of the structure and function of the ribosome
Source: Jinfo.org / Nobel Prize Chemistry 2009
Allen Bard1933
Electrochemist, developer of scanning electrochemical microscopy
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Stuart Rice1932
Physical chemist known for the statistical mechanics of liquids
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Charles Lieber1959
Chemist known for nanowires and nanoscale materials
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Robert Langer1948
Biomedical engineer who pioneered controlled drug-delivery systems and tissue engineering.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Robert Bergman1942
Organometallic chemist known for C–H bond activation and the Bergman cyclization
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Stephen Buchwald1955
Organic chemist known for the Buchwald–Hartwig amination reaction
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Meir Lahav1936
Chemist known for chirality and crystal engineering
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Leslie Leiserowitz1934
Chemist known for molecular crystals and crystal growth
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Chemistry
Bonnie Bassler1962
Microbiologist who elucidated quorum sensing, the chemical communication between bacteria.
Source: Jinfo.org — Jews in Biology
Benjamin Cravatt2022
Pioneer of activity-based protein profiling in chemical biology; Wolf Prize in Chemistry (2022)
Source: Jinfo.org — Jewish recipients of the Wolf Prize (Chemistry)