Corey, Elias James (1928– )

US organic chemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1990 for the development of retrosynthetic analysis, a method of synthesizing complex substances. A prolific worker, Corey has synthesized more than 100 substances for the first time, including terpenes (a family of hydrocarbons found in plant oils) and ginkgolide B (an extract from the ginkgo tree used to control asthma).

Retrosynthetic analysis involves the breakdown of an organic compound in stages, with each step being tested for reversibility. The starting point is a list of a compound's features and structure, such as how the carbon atoms are bonded together and whether they are linked together in chains, rings, or branches. The molecule is then simplified by unlinking the chains and breaking the bonds. From this process emerges a set of rules leading from compound to reactants and back to the compound again.

Corey was born in Methuen, Massachusetts, USA, and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he originally planned a career as an electrical engineer. However, an enlightening lecture by an organic chemist inspired him to change his studies to chemistry. After obtaining a doctorate, he took a job as an instructor at the University of Illinois in 1951, which led to a professorship. In 1959, he moved on to Harvard and was appointed Sheldon Emery professor in 1965.