# Robert H. Grubbs

_Nobel prize winning American chemist (1942-2021)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/robert-h-grubbs
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Robert Howard Grubbs ForMemRS (February 27, 1942 – December 19, 2021) was an American chemist and the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. He was a co-recipient of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on olefin metathesis.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 27 February 1942 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Possum Trot ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P19))
- **Died:** 19 December 2021 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P570))
- **Place of death:** Duarte ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P20))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P27))
- **Occupation:** chemist; autobiographer; university teacher ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P106))
- **Education:** Columbia University; University of Florida; Paducah Tilghman High School; Stanford University; Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P69))
- **Spouse:** Helen O'Kane-Grubbs ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P26))
- **Awards:** Nobel Prize in Chemistry; Benjamin Franklin Medal; Arthur C. Cope Award; Humboldt Research Fellowship; American Chemical Society Award in Organometallic Chemistry; August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal; Prelog Medal and Lecture; Centenary Prize; Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Synthetic Organic Chemistry Research; Humboldt Prize; Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry; honorary doctor of the RWTH Aachen University; Linus Pauling Award; Florida Inventors Hall of Fame; Foreign Member of the Royal Society ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140#P166))

## About

Grubbs was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2015 for developments in catalysts that have enabled commercial products.

He was a co-founder of Materia, a university spin-off startup to produce catalysts.

## Questions

**When was Robert H. Grubbs born?**  
Robert H. Grubbs was born on 27 February 1942 in Possum Trot.

**Where did Robert H. Grubbs study?**  
Robert H. Grubbs was educated at Columbia University, University of Florida, Paducah Tilghman High School, Stanford University.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Robert H. Grubbs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Grubbs) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q202140](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q202140) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Robert H. Grubbs HD2010 AIC Gold Medal 2.JPG by Conrad Erb (CC BY-SA 3.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_H._Grubbs_HD2010_AIC_Gold_Medal_2.JPG)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Robert H. Grubbs, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Robert H. Grubbs HD2010 AIC Gold Medal 2.JPG — Conrad Erb, CC BY-SA 3.0.

## Cite this page

"Robert H. Grubbs". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/robert-h-grubbs. Retrieved 15 November 2026.