Kenneth B. Wiberg

Kenneth Berle Wiberg (born September 22, 1927) is an American Professor Emeritus of organic chemistry at Yale University. He contributed to many aspects of organic chemistry including physical and synthetic aspects.^[1][2]

Scholarship

In the area of synthetic organic chemistry, Wiberg and his students reported the preparation of highly strained organic compounds bicyclobutane^[3] and [1.1.1]propellane:^[4]

Scheme 1. Synthesis of [1.1.1]propellane

Recognition

• He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an American Association of Arts and Sciences fellow.^[5]
• In 1988, he won the Arthur C. Cope Award.^[6]
• Asteroid 27267 Wiberg, discovered by American astronomer John V. McClusky at Fair Oaks Ranch Observatory (725) in 1999, was named in his honor.^[2] The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 7 January 2004 (M.P.C. 50464).^[7]