Barton's special interest has been in the area of conformational analysis: forming theories on the three- dimensional shapes of molecules, and inventing new chemical reactions. "You think about them in your head and then try them out in the laboratory," says the 75-year-old organic chemist, who in 1959 devised reactions that made functional the unactivated methyl groups in steroids. This reaction enabled other scientists to synthesize aldosterone--an essential hormone controlling electrolyte balance in the body. Nowadays, Barton is working on the selective functionalization of saturated hydrocarbons, which he says has applications in the production of adipic acid, a major component in the production of nylons.
In 1942, Barton received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Imperial College of Science and Technology, a part of the University of London in the United Kingdom. He subsequently spent several years in the U.K. and France, moving to Texas A&M in 1986. Three ...
