Professor Jean M.J. Frechet

Jean Frechet obtained his BSc. in Chemical Engineering from Institut de Chimie et Physique Industrielles, Lyon, France in 1967, followed by an MS and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Syracuse University, USA in 1969 and 1971, respectively. Then he joined the University of Ottawa in Canada from 1973 to 1987; he was also appointed as a Visiting Scientist at IBM Research Laboratory in San Jose, CA, USA, from 1979 to 1983. He joined Cornell University as IBM Professor of Chemistry from 1987 to 1997, and was appointed as Peter J. Debye Chair of Chemistry from 1993 to 1997. Professor Frechet joined the University of California, Berkeley in 1996 and held several academic positions including a Scientific Director of the Molecular Foundry of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and in 2011, he was named Professor Emeritus of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the same university. He was also appointed as a Senior Vice President of Research, Innovation & Economic Development at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia from 2010 to 2019. 

Professor Frechet co-developed the concept of chemically amplified photoresists with Grant Willson, thereby opening a new era in the fabrication and miniaturization of microelectronic devices, which have been the basis of nearly all the world’s microelectronic devices that have been made in the last two decades. His work on dendrimers has been used to explore a host of applications including the delivery of therapeutic materials. Similarly, the work done on macroporous polymers led to their quick commercialization for use in chemical and biological separations. Professor Frechet later developed innovative polymeric carriers for both drugs and vaccines as well as explored the fundamental design of electroactive polymers used today for organic field-effect transistors and solar cells.

Professor Frechet has published over 880 papers and holds over 100 patents. He is a member of the editorial boards of several journals and scientific Committees, and has also received numerous honors and awards including the Dickson Prize of science, Herman Mark Award, Nagoya Gold Medal, Grand Prix de la Maison de la Chimie and Japan Prize.

This biography was written in the year the prize was awarded.