Manufacturing Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee: Robert Curl

Dec. 17, 2012

The Rice University emeritus professor shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry by virtue of his role in the discovery of the “buckyball,” which paved the way for a new branch of chemistry -- nanotechnology.

Josh Cable

Robert Curl Jr. longed to be a chemist from the age of 9, when his parents gave him his first chemistry set. Curl, now 79, admits that a large part of his initial attraction was the prospect of seeing things explode.

"It's kind of embarrassing to explain," Curl says. "I liked the idea of making a little pile of something and dropping a single drop on it and having it ignite spontaneously. And you would get colorful smoke. And you would have explosions. And you would have all sorts of weird smells when you mixed the chemistry up."

The fact that the Texas-born Curl shared the 1996 Nobel Prize for Chemistry -- by virtue of his role in the discovery of the "buckyball" -- makes his sheepish admission all the more endearing.

The son of a Methodist minister, Curl is quick to heap credit on fellow chemists Richard Smalley and Harold Kroto for the trio's 1985 discovery of the buckminsterfullerene, or buckyball, a soccerball-shaped molecule that represented a new class of carbon compounds now known as fullerenes.

Their discovery stoked the imagination of the science community and paved the way for a new branch of chemistry -- nanotechnology -- that is poised to have a profound impact on manufacturing, medicine, agriculture, energy and other fields.

Curl, who spent his entire career as a professor at his undergraduate alma mater, Rice University, humbly describes the trio's discovery as "a moment of serendipity," noting that he and his fellow chemists were attempting to simulate the chemistry in the atmosphere of giant stars.

"We were just doing some experiments on vaporizing carbon and we started out with an entirely different purpose in mind," Curl recalls. "Our only claim to credit is that when opportunity knocked, we listened. We didn't ignore a deviant result or a strange result; instead we explored it and tried to figure out what it meant."

For a full list of the Manufacturing Hall of Fame inductees, click here.

About the Author

Josh Cable | Former Senior Editor

Former Senior Editor Josh Cable covered innovation issues -- including trends and best practices in R&D, process improvement and product development. He also reported on the best practices of the most successful companies and executives in the world of transportation manufacturing, which encompasses the aerospace, automotive, rail and shipbuilding sectors.

Josh also led the IndustryWeek Manufacturing Hall of Fame, IW’s annual tribute to the most influential executives and thought leaders in U.S. manufacturing history.

Before joining IndustryWeek, Josh was the editor-in-chief of Penton Media’s Government Product News and Government Procurement. He also was an award-winning beat reporter for several small newspapers in Northeast Ohio.

Josh received his BFA in creative writing from Bowling Green University, and continued his professional development through course-work at Ohio University and Cuyahoga Community College.

A lifelong resident of the Buckeye State, Josh currently lives in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. When the weather cooperates, you’ll find him riding his bike to work, exercising his green thumb in the backyard or playing ultimate Frisbee.