Leo A. Paquette, Master of Total Synthesis (1934–2019), An Obituary-Tribute

Leo Armand Paquette was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on July 15, 1934. He earned his B.S. degree from Holy Cross College in 1956 and his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the Massachusetts of Technology in Cambridge in 1959. He served as a Research Associate at the Upjohn Company in Kalamazoo, Michigan from 1959 to 1963. He then joined the faculty of Ohio State University in Columbus, where he became Full Professor in 1969 and Distinguished University Professor in 1987. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1984. He served on advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). He was a member of the editorial boards of many periodicals. His research contributions included heterocyclic chemistry, natural product chemistry, and the properties of architecturally interesting compounds. He was the author of more than 1000 articles, 38 book chapters, and 17 books. He mentored about 150 graduate students to their Ph.D. degrees. Paquette is best known for achieving the first total synthesis of a Platonic solid in 1962, dodecahedrane (C20H20). It does not occur in nature, but it’s systhisis was a great chemical achievement. Paquette died on January 21, 2019 in Columbus, Ohio at the age of 84 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. His survived by his wife of 61 years, Estelle; and five children, 13 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren.