Brian Stoltz Wins 2025 Tolman Award in Chemistry

The Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society (SCALACS) has selected Brian M. Stoltz, the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry to receive this year's Richard C. Tolman Award, an honor given in recognition of outstanding contributions to chemistry.

Stoltz, who is also a Heritage Medical Research Institute Investigator, is known for his pioneering work in synthetic organic chemistry and catalysis. His group strives to find new reactions and strategies to synthesize complex target molecules such as natural products that have interesting structural and biological properties. According to his website, "Naturally, these endeavors continuously push the boundaries of known chemical reactivity, highlighting the limitations of current technologies. The ensuing synthetic effort represents not only a feat of synthetic strategy, but one of creativity and ingenuity."

In its online announcement of this year's Tolman Award, SCALACS includes a quote about Stoltz from the late Caltech professor of chemistry and Nobel Laureate Robert H. Grubbs: "He is well recognized as one of the leaders in organic synthesis and is one of the few who not only develops both new catalytic methodology but also demonstrates the methods in complex total synthesis. … [His work] show[s] promise of opening new structural space in the treatment of human diseases."

Stoltz earned his undergraduate degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he first fell in love with organic chemistry. He completed his doctoral work at Yale University in 1997 before going on to conduct research at Harvard University as a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow. Stoltz joined the Caltech faculty in 2000, was named associate professor in 2006, full professor and the Bowles Professor in 2007, and the Atkins Professor in 2022. He served as the executive officer for chemistry from 2010 until 2012 and was named an HMRI Investigator in 2021.

"Since moving to Southern California more than 25 years ago, I have been continuously in awe of the extraordinary chemistry research that occurs in our region," Stoltz says. "To be honored with the Tolman Medal in the same group as many of my Caltech heroes and revered colleagues from across the SoCal area is undeniably overwhelming."

Over the years, Stoltz has been honored with many awards in synthetic organic chemistry, including the ACS Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, the ACS Elias J. Corey Award, the 2018 ACS Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, the 2025 ACS Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods, and the 2026 ACS Ernest Guenther Award. In addition, he has been recognized for his contributions as an educator, mentor, and leader—one who is known for creating a nurturing research community and for broadening participation in STEM. Earlier this year, he became the first Caltech faculty member to receive both the Shirley Malcom Prize for Excellence in Mentoring and the Richard P. Feynman Prize for Excellence in Teaching, which he received in 2017.

According to SCALACS, "Through innovative research, national leadership, and dedication to mentoring future chemists, Dr. Brian M. Stoltz embodies the essence of the Tolman Award and is among the most distinguished chemists of his generation."

The Tolman Award is named in honor of Richard C. Tolman, who became professor of physical chemistry and mathematical physics at Caltech in 1921 and later dean of the graduate school. Stoltz joins a distinguished list of Caltech faculty members who have won the Tolman Medal in years past: John Bercaw (2012), Dennis A. Dougherty (2010), Robert H. Grubbs (2002), William A. Goddard, III (2000), Peter B. Dervan (1999), Ahmed H. Zewail (1997), Jacqueline K. Barton (1994), Linus Pauling (1990), John D. Baldeschwieler (1988), Harry B. Gray (1979), John D. Roberts (1974), and James Bonner (1972), Arie J. Haagen-Smit (1964), and Ernest H. Swift (1962).