Coming Together to Honor the Legacy of a Towering Scholar and Treasured Mentor
A fellowship named for Nobel Prize winner and longtime Caltech faculty member Robert Grubbs and his wife, Helen, will support new generations of chemists.
Robert Grubbs (1942–2021), the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry and a member of the Caltech faculty since 1978, was a giant in the field of chemistry.
Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery of the metathesis method in organic synthesis, which has had diverse applications ranging from herbicides and thermal insulations for subsea pipelines to new treatments for kidney stones and Hepatitis C. Grubbs was also one of Caltech's most prolific inventors and entrepreneurs. He is named on more than 200 US patents and founded or cofounded numerous start-ups.
But Grubbs is remembered as much for his humanity and his mentorship as his game-changing research. Since his passing in December 2021, some 100 former students, colleagues, business partners, and friends have made gifts totaling more than $1 million to establish the Bob and Helen Grubbs Fellowship. The endowed fund supports one graduate student or postdoctoral scholar in chemistry each year. With continued contributions, the fund could grow to support even more fellows.
