José Mario Molina: Life and legacy of a man who helped to save Earth’s ozone layer

Abstract

On October 7, 2020, history entrusted us with a moment of profound significance where we rejoiced to see two distinguished women—Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna—be honored with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, while we also reckoned with the shattering loss of a much respected and honored academic, a humble and generous man dedicated to the understanding of how our planet functions, and to the virtues and values of striving toward a better world for all to live and thrive in: Dr. Mario Molina, 1995 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. José Mario Molina at MIT in 2002. Image credit: L. T. Molina (photographer). José Mario Molina was born in Mexico City on March 19, 1943. Enjoying the benefit of role models, like his father, a lawyer and professor at the National University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Mexican Ambassador to Australia, Ethiopia, and the Philippines, Mario was raised within the atmosphere of an educated and supportive family. From an interview with Mario’s brother, Roberto, we can glimpse the early life of Mario, who already showed a clear interest for science (telephone interview with Roberto Molina on October 29, 2020). Mario enjoyed looking at microorganisms through a toy microscope and transformed a home bathroom into his first chemistry laboratory, where he enjoyed investigating, using toy chemistry sets. His aunt, Esther Molina—also a chemist—stimulated that interest by helping him undertake more sophisticated experiments in that “bathroom lab.” Noticing Mario’s scientific potential, his parents sent him, at age 11, to Switzerland for 2 years to learn German, a language then deemed critical to pursue a scientific path. Back in Mexico, after high school, Mario enrolled in UNAM’s School of Chemistry in 1960, where he graduated as a chemical engineer. It is from this period that Mario’s life-long friend, Dr. Francisco Barnés, also a chemistry major … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: rdirzo{at}stanford.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1