Sir James Fraser Stoddart, an effervescent speaker
By J.V. Yakhmi
Sir James Fraser Stoddart, the 1916 Chemistry Nobel Laureate, was known for his pioneering work on mechanically-interlocked molecular architectures, used to construct molecular devices.
First time ever, a Gordon Research Conference came to Asia was during Sept. 24–28, 1996. Organized by the renowned chemist, Prof. Hiizu Iwamura, at Hotel Uminonakamichi at Fukuoka in Japan, its theme was “Organic Structures and Properties”. About 110 scientists from across the world participated in it, and all of them stayed at the conference Hotel itself, for close interaction.
The Inaugural lecture was delivered by Prof. James Fraser Stoddart, from University of Birmingham. A mesmerizing speaker, he later shared the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Bernard L. Feringa, “for the design and synthesis of molecular machines.”
Prof. Stoddart spoke with elan. First thing he did was to remove his neck-tie stating that he had to buy it at the airport, having forgot to bring one with him, which set him off by USD 35. And how much he hated it as a thrifty native of Scotland, he said. Apart from having a sharp wit, Sir Fraser exuded a sparkling originality and effervescence during his talk on mechanically-interlocked organic supramolecular structures.
Born in Edinburgh in 1942, Stoddart received his B.Sc., Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees all from the University of Edinburgh. After short stints at University of Sheffield and ICI, he took up the Chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Birmingham in 1990.
I was drawn to research efforts by Stoddart in mid-1980s when he used self-assembly and molecular recognition processes in chemical systems. Using these two processes, he later synthesized mechanically-interlocked molecular architectures like catenanes and rotaxanes, and showed that these topologies can be employed as molecular switches. Using a rotaxane developed by him he threaded a molecular ring which moved along a thin molecular axle. He further used rotaxanes to build a molecular lift, a molecular muscle and a molecule-based computer chip.
From Birmingham, Prof. Stoddart moved to UCLA in 1997 to occupy Fred Kavli Chair in Nanosystems Sciences, and Directorship of the California NanoSystems Institute. Subsequently, he spent several years at Northwestern University as Board of Trustees Professor in Chemistry, where he set up a Mechanostereochemistry Group.
Since 2023, Stoddart was the Chair Professor of Chemistry at the University of Hong Kong, where he died on Dec. 30, 2024.
At the Gordon Conference in 1996, mentioned above, I tried several times to get to talk to him, but found him surrounded by his admirers. Finally, I could attract his attention at the poster session, and said to him: ‘Prof. Stoddart, when I bring my camera, I can’t get you, and when I see you, my camera is in the Hotel room. I would love to get a photo clicked with you!’ He said, ‘OK, done, get your camera and meet me right here at the poster session after 5 minutes’. And he complied by letting me have a memorable picture with him!
