Hermann Staudinger

Hermann Staudinger
Born(1881-03-23)23 March 1881
Died8 September 1965(1965-09-08) (aged 84)
EducationTechnische Hochschule Darmstadt, University of Halle
Known forKetenes
Polymer chemistry
Staudinger coupling
Staudinger reaction
Staudinger synthesis
SpouseMagda Staudinger (née Woit)
AwardsNobel Prize in Chemistry (1953)
Rudolf Diesel Medal (1962)
Scientific career
FieldsOrganic and Polymer chemistry
WorkplacesUniversity of Strasbourg
University of Karlsruhe
ETH Zurich
University of Freiburg
Thesis Anlagerung des Malonesters an ungesättigte Verbindungen  (1903)
Daniel Vorländer
Doctoral students
Werner Kern
Tadeusz Reichstein
Leopold Ružička
Rudolf Signer

Hermann Staudinger (German: [ˈhɛʁman ˈʃtaʊ̯dɪŋɐ] ⓘ; 23 March 1881 – 8 September 1965) was a German organic chemist who demonstrated the existence of macromolecules, which he characterized as polymers. For this work he received the 1953 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

He is also known for his discovery of ketenes and of the Staudinger reaction. Staudinger, together with Leopold Ružička, also elucidated the molecular structures of pyrethrin I and II in the 1920s, enabling the development of pyrethroid insecticides in the 1960s and 1970s.