Mario Molina (chemist)

From Hispanopedia
Mario Molina
Born
Mario Molina-Pasquel Henríquez Nobel Prize in Chemistry

(1943-03-19)March 19, 1943
Mexico City, Mexico
DiedOctober 7, 2020(2020-10-07) (aged 77)
Mexico City, Mexico
Cause of death
Acute myocardial infarction
EducationChemical Engineering at the Faculty of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1965
Postgraduate studies at the University of Freiburg, 1967
Doctorate in Physical Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley
Doctoral advisor: George C. Pimentel
Alma materFaculty of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico
Postgraduate: University of Freiburg
University of California, Berkeley
OccupationsResearch Scientist (Environmental Chemistry, Physical Chemistry)
Spouse(s)Luisa Tan (1973–2005), Guadalupe Álvarez (2006–2020)
Parent(s)Roberto Félix Molina Pasquel
Leonor Henríquez
AwardsNobel Prize in Chemistry (1995)
UN Environment Programme Sasakawa Environment Prize (1999)
Heinz Award in the Environment (2003)
Volvo Environment Prize (2020
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2013)

José Mario Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (Mexico City, March 19, 1943 – ibid., October 7, 2020),[1] known as Mario Molina, was a Mexican engineer, chemist, scientist, professor and activist, notable for being one of the discoverers of the causes of the Antarctic ozone hole. He shared the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in elucidating the threat posed by CFC gases and others to the Earth's ozone layer of the Earth.[2] Likewise, his research and publications on the subject led to the drafting of the United Nations Montreal Protocol,[3] the first international treaty to have effectively confronted an environmental problem of global scale and anthropogenic origin.[4]

He studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, at the University of Freiburg and at the University of California (Berkeley). As a professor and researcher he worked at the University of California (Irvine and San Diego), the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He was an advisor on science, technology, climate and environmental matters to the administrations of Barack Obama and Enrique Peña Nieto. During his final years he was an outspoken communicator of the dangers of global warming.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Mario Molina's scientific and environmental work was recognized with more than thirty honorary doctorates, memberships in several scientific societies in Mexico and the United States, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom of the United States.

Biography

Early years and studies

His parents were Roberto Félix Molina Pasquel (Veracruz) and Leonor Henríquez (Veracruz). His father was Mexico's ambassador to Ethiopia, Australia and the Philippines. In 1960, Mario Molina entered the Faculty of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico to study chemical engineering. In 1965, after graduating, he continued his postgraduate studies at the University of Freiburg in Germany, where he spent almost two years researching polymerization kinetics. Between 1967 and 1968, he spent a few months in Paris and in Mexico City. In 1968 he entered the doctoral program in physical chemistry at the University of Berkeley, California.

At Berkeley he joined the research group of Professor George C. Pimentel.[5] Molina obtained his doctorate in 1972 and remained one more year at Berkeley before becoming, in 1973, an associate researcher at the University of California, Irvine, together with Professor Frank Sherwood Rowland.

Teaching

Mario Molina (left), with Luis Ernesto Miramontes, ca. 1995.

Mario Molina was appointed a member of the Irvine faculty in 1975, and led his own research from then on. After seven years at Irvine, he decided to explore professional life outside academia and joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in the physics and molecular chemistry group.[citation needed]

He returned to academia in 1989, joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a professor, and acquired United States citizenship.

From 2005 he was a professor at the University of California, San Diego.[citation needed]

El Colegio Nacional

He was a member of El Colegio Nacional[6] and also a notable member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.[citation needed]

It describes him as a pioneer and one of the leading researchers of Mexico. Mario Molina was recognized and consulted by Mexican and American presidents such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.[7]

Barack Obama

He was chosen as an advisor to Barack Obama's transition team on environmental issues in November 2008.[8] From April 2011 he was one of the 21 scientist members of President Barack Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST Archived (Date missing) at whitehouse.gov (Error: unknown archive URL))[9]

He was Honorary President of the Mares de México Association, founded in 2009 and devoted to the conservation of the seas.[10]

He chaired the Mario Molina Center for Strategic Studies on Energy and the Environment.[11]

Environmental chemistry

Mario Molina with the Chilean minister Pablo Badenier.

He carried out various research projects in the field of environmental chemistry on the problem of the environment. In 1974, Rowland and Molina reported the results of their research in an article published in the journal Nature. In it they warned of the growing threat that the use of CFC gases posed to the ozone layer, a warning that at the time was criticized and considered exaggerated by a sector of researchers. However, the tenacity and conviction they placed in their own theories won over the minds of thousands of people. After arduous deliberations, Molina and Rowland obtained approval of their thesis at international scientific meetings and were present at the meetings at which the control parameters that each country was to apply to CFC emissions were set.[citation needed]

In 1989, Molina worked in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a researcher and professor. In 1994 his work earned him appointment, by the President of the United States, as a member of the committee that advised him on matters of science and other technological recognition, to which 21 scientists belong.[citation needed]

Nobel Prize in Chemistry

His career of work and his perseverance in pursuit of his concern for a problem affecting the entire planet earned him, on October 11, 1995, together with Sherwood Rowland, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for being the pioneers in establishing the relationship between the ozone hole and chlorine and bromide compounds in the stratosphere. The award was also granted to the Dutchman Crutzen, of the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz (Germany), who found in 1970 that polluting gases have a destructive effect on that layer, without decomposing.

UNEP and other honors

On December 4, 1995, Molina, Rowland and Crutzen were also awarded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for their contribution to the protection of the ozone layer.[citation needed]

Molina also held the Tyler (1983) and Essekeb (1987) awards granted by the American Chemical Society, the Newcomb Cleveland Prize of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1987) for an article published in the journal Science explaining his work on the chemistry of the ozone hole in Antarctica, and the medal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (1989) in recognition of his scientific achievements. Mario Molina remarked on one occasion that when he chose the project of investigating the fate of CFCs in the atmosphere, he did so simply out of scientific curiosity. He did not consider the consequences his studies would entail, but when he realized the magnitude of his discovery he felt overwhelmed, because his contribution has not only aided the understanding of atmospheric chemistry, but has also had a profound impact on ecological awareness throughout the world. At that time he was an activist in science policy.[citation needed]

On October 15, 2015, the Mario Molina Building was inaugurated at the Ciudad Universitaria of the UNAM, a space that links research between the Faculty of Chemistry and Industry. It was built as part of the celebration of the 100 years of the Faculty of Chemistry and is aimed at providing solutions to problems related to environmental protection, energy use and the prevention of climate change.[12]

Death

He died on October 21, 2020, at the age of 77, as a result of an acute myocardial infarction, in Mexico City.[13][14]

Honors and awards

Doctorates

Bibliography

Year Title Coauthor Publisher ISBN Notes
2005 La calidad del aire en la megaciudad de México: Un enfoque integral Molina, Luisa T. Fondo de Cultura Económica 9789681675806 Mario Molina is coordinator and writer of the book.
2016 El cambio climático. Causas, efectos y soluciones. José Sarukhán Kermez, Julia Carabias Fondo de Cultura Económica It is part of the collection "La ciencia para todos", #241.[42]

Books about Mario Molina

Year Title Author Publisher ISBN Notes
2014 Mario Molina: La química en el aire Rosanela Alvarez, illustrations by Enrique Torralva Ediciones SM Infantil 9786072413221 Así Ocurrió / Instantáneas de la Historia collection.
2014 Nubes en el cielo mexicano. Mario Molina, pionero del ambientalismo. Carlos Chimal Alfaguara Juvenil 9786070115875

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Muere Mario Molina, premio Nobel de Química mexicano". Animal Político (in español). October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Autobiografía de Mario Molina en nobelprize.org". 2007. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
  3. ↑ Manual del Protocolo de Montreal con el texto y explicaciones (in Spanish)
  4. ↑ Gisela von Wobeser (coordinator): Historia de México ISBN 978-607-16-0173-5, p. 272 (in Spanish)
  5. ↑ Menchaca Solís, Héctor, Memorias sobre la Sociedad Química de México, Bol. Soc. Quím. Méx. 2007, 1(2), ISSN 1870-1809, pp. 144–146. "Doctor Mario Molina, who was a student and researcher in Pimentel's group, mentions that he was such an excellent professor, such a wonderful mentor, that his esteem and enthusiasm gave him great motivation to pursue important scientific achievements." (in Spanish)
  6. ↑ "Miembros. Molina, Mario". El Colegio Nacional (in español). Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Las aportaciones del mexicano Mario Molina al mundo científico". Tus Buenas Noticias (in español). Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  8. ↑ "Noticia en centromariomolina.org" (in español). 2007. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Copia archivada". Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  10. ↑ Mares de México (in Spanish)
  11. ↑ http://centromariomolina.org/directorio/
  12. ↑ Boletín UNAM-DGCS-597. "Se inaugura el edificio Mario Molina" (in español). UNAM DGC.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Comunicado del deceso por parte del Centro Mario Molina (in Spanish)
  14. ↑ "Muere Mario Molina, Premio Nobel de Química mexicano". Animal Político (in español). Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Premio Tyler". Archived from the original on May 13, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Premio Esseler de la Sociedad Estadounidense de Química (inglés)".
  17. ↑ "Premio Nobel, Autobiografía (inglés)".
  18. ↑ "Medalla Willard Gibbs de la Sección Chicago de la Sociedad Estadounidense de Química (inglés)". Archived from the original on July 23, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Premio de la Sociedad Estadounidense de Química por Avances Creativos en Ciencia y Tecnología del Medio Ambiente (inglés)". Archived from the original on May 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Premio Sasakawa del PNUMA".
  21. ↑ "Premio Heinz". Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Miembro del Colegio Nacional de México" (in español). Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Premio Volvo de Medio Ambiente (inglés)". Archived from the original on November 5, 2012.
  24. ↑ "Orden de Isabel la Católica 2008" (in español). Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  25. ↑ "Orden de Orange-Nassau" (in español).
  26. ↑ "Orden de la Legión de Honor" (in español).
  27. ↑ ""Medalla de la Libertad"" (in español).
  28. ↑ "Premios Nobel de la UNAM (inglés)". Archived from the original on March 15, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Doctorados Honorarios por la Universidad de Yale (inglés)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Doctorado Universidad de las Américas" (PDF) (in español).
  31. ↑ "Honoris Causa de la UAM a Mario Molina | La Crónica de Hoy". www.cronica.com.mx (in español). Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  32. ↑ https://www.uax.es/conoce-la-uax/como-es-la-uax/doctor-honoris-causa.html
  33. ↑ "Doctorado Honoris Causa por el CINVESTAV del IPN" (in español). Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2013.
  34. ↑ "Doctorado Honoris Causa de la Universidad del Valle de México" (in español). Archived from the original on November 19, 2010. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  35. ↑ "50 años de la Universidad del Valle de México" (PDF) (in español). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 16, 2013. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  36. ↑ "Doctorados Honorarios por la Universidad de Harvard 2012 (inglés)".
  37. ↑ "Doctorado Honorario por la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo" (in español). Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Doctorado Honorario por la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México" (PDF) (in español). [dead link]
  39. ↑ "Doctorado Honorario por la Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo" (in español). Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Doctorado Honorario por la Universidad de Guadalajara" (in español). Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  41. ↑ "Doctorado Honorario por la Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí" (in español). Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  42. ↑ http://www.fondodeculturaeconomica.com/Editorial/Derechos/CatalogosVentaDerechos/Cat%C3%A1logo%20de%20obras%20LCPT%202016.pdf
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