Richard F. Heck

Richard F. Heck
Heck in 2010
Born	Richard Frederick Heck (1931-08-15)August 15, 1931 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	October 9, 2015(2015-10-09) (aged 84) Manila, Philippines
Nationality	American
Alma mater	UCLA (BS, PhD)
Known for	Heck reaction
Spouse	Socorro Nardo-Heck (died 2012)
Awards	Glenn T. Seaborg Medal (2011) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2010)
Scientific career
Fields	Chemistry
Institutions	University of Delaware Hercules ETH Zurich De La Salle University
Thesis	Methoxyl and aryl groups in substitution and rearrangement (1955)
Doctoral advisor	Saul Winstein

Richard Frederick Heck (August 15, 1931 – October 9, 2015) was an American chemist noted for the discovery and development of the Heck reaction, which uses palladium to catalyze organic chemical reactions that couple aryl halides with alkenes. The analgesic naproxen is an example of a compound that is prepared industrially using the Heck reaction.

For his work in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions and organic synthesis, Heck was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with the Japanese chemists Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki.^[1]