Jean-Marie Lehn | Biography

Jean-Marie Pierre Lehn was born to Pierre and Marie (Salomon) Lehn on September 30, 1939, in Rosheim, in the Alsace region of northeastern France. After completing a diverse curriculum of chemistry, classics, and philosophy at the Collège Freppel in 1957, Lehn continued his studies at the University of Strasbourg, where he turned his attention to organic chemistry. He earned his bachelor's from the University of Strausbourg in 1960, and was granted his doctorate by the same institution in 1963.

Lehn spent a year in the United States as a visiting professor at Harvard University, working with Roald Hoffmann on quantum mechanics and with R. B. Woodward on the composition of vitamin B12, and returned to the University of Strasbourg as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1966. By this time, he had already begun studies of the human nervous system in order to determine biological and chemical relationships within the human body and was making great strides in the area of physical organic chemistry. It was during this period that he coined the term "supramolecular chemistry," later called "host-guest chemistry." Lehn defined supramolecular chemistry as a process whereby molecules recognize one another and selectively connect or bond, though the movement occurs quickly and the structural bonding is not permanent. In 1969, Lehn accepted an associate professorship at the Université Louis Pasteur, which became a full professorship in 1970.

Several years earlier, the American chemist Charles John Pedersen had published the results of his research on molecules known as ethers, in which carbon and oxygen atoms are strung together to form a crown-like shape. He referred to these molecules as crown ethers. Lehn expanded upon Pedersen's work by showing that crown ethers could be made three-dimensional by adding layers. The molecule now formed a cavity, or crypt, that increased the number of contact points to which the metal ions could adhere, thus making the crown ether more selective with regard to the type of molecule it would capture. Lehn called these structures cryptands. They resembled, he said, chemical "locks" that only particular molecular "keys" would fit.

Concurrently, another American chemist, Donald J. Cram, was reporting significant findings in molecular selectivity. Cram and Lehn both discovered techniques for synthesizing crown ether molecules into artificial enzymes. Lehn, Pedersen and Cram shared the 1987 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work in "elucidating mechanisms of molecular recognition, which are fundamental to enzymic catalysis, regulation, and transport." Through their combined efforts, they have made it possible to create synthetically molecules and enzymes with enormous pharmacological and research applications.

In 1979, Lehn moved to Paris, where he became a professor of chemistry and chair of chemistry of molecular interactions at the Collège de France, a position he retains today.. Director of the laboratories in both Strasbourg and Paris, he has traveled internationally as a visiting professor and has received a number of awards. Lehn is recognized internationally for his work and has published numerous papers and chapters in books on the subject. He continues to build a distinguished career in chemistry. Lehn's family includes his wife Sylvie, whom he married in 1965, and their two sons, David and Mathias. His hobbies include listening to music, traveling, and playing the piano.