Diels, Otto Paul Hermann
Diels, Otto Paul Hermann,
1876–1954, German chemist, Ph.D. Univ. of Berlin, 1899. From 1899 to 1915, Diehls was on the faculty at the Univ. of Berlin. In 1916, he joined the Univ. of Kiel, where he was professor until he retired in 1945. Diels received the 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Kurt AlderAlder, Kurt, 1902–58, German chemist, educated at Berlin and at Kiel. He was on the research staff of the Bayer Dye Works (1936–40) before becoming (1940) professor of chemistry and director of the chemical institute of the Univ. of Cologne.
..... Click the link for more information. for their discovery and development of the diene synthesis. Known as the Diels-Alder reaction, the technique required no reagents or catalysts and could be carried out without high temperatures or pressures. The Diels-Alder reaction provided the chemical foundation for the production of a number of materials, including synthetic rubber, plastics, and polymers.