John E. Franz
John E. Franz (born December 21, 1929 in Springfield (Illinois) ) is an American chemist. He developed the herbicide glyphosate ( Roundup ) at Monsanto in 1970 .
Life
Franz received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1951 and his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1955 . In the same year he started working for Monsanto in St. Louis, Missouri .
In 1970 he discovered the herbicidal effect of glyphosate, which was described in 1950 by the Swiss chemist Henri Martin . The discovery of the herbicidal properties of glyphosate led to the development of Roundup, which was launched in 1974. It only acts on plants and hardly on animals or bacteria and has a low mobility, so that it mostly remains at the point of spraying. It is one of the most widely used herbicides and generated billions in sales for Monsanto. In 1991 he retired from Monsanto as a Distinguished Fellow in the Synthesis Department.
He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and received the National Medal of Technology in 1987 . In 1990 he received the Perkin Medal and in 1989 the Carothers Award. In 1981 he received Monsanto's top scientific award, the JF Queenie Award. Franz holds 70 US and 800 foreign patents.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Franz, John E. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American chemist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 21, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Springfield (Illinois) |