The IECB and CBMN have organised a mini-symposium to celebrate the 90th birthday of chemist Léon Ghosez on Thursday 27 June 2024 at the IECB.

How would you describe Léon Ghosez's career in a few words?

A very rich career in Belgium and then in France! He has been a bridge between generations of chemists. Over 300 doctoral and post-doctoral students! Prestigious awards and even a chemistry reagent named after him. On 27 June 2024, Léon Ghosez celebrated his ninetieth birthday.

During a mini-symposium in his honour, a number of colleagues, friends and former members of his group presented their work, mentioning Léon Ghosez's career and their shared memories. Ivan Huc, Professor at Munich's Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU), recalled how the use of the ‘Ghosez reagent’ (tetramethyl-α-chloroenamine) had enabled them to successfully synthesise complex molecules (DOI: 10.1021/jo101360h), and his presentation was punctuated by nods to Léon, who was also a great lover of wine: ‘a barrel of wine can perform more miracles than a church full of saints’. His friend Janine Cossy, Professor Emeritus at ESPCI PARIS-PSL and Member of the Académie des Sciences, spoke about the magician Ghosez. Stéphane Quideau, Professor at the University of Bordeaux, spoke of his special bond with Léon, which continues through the brotherhood of the ‘Chevaliers de Tastevin’ in Burgundy. At the end of his presentation, Michal Hocek, a former post-doctoral fellow, presented Léon with the medal of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB in Prague) of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

One of the founders of the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology

As early as 1998, a number of scientists and politicians were involved in the project to create the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology (IECB) in Bordeaux. Léon Ghosez was one of the founding members of this institute. Léon and Jean-Jacques Toulmé co-directed the institute for around ten years. Jean-Jacques Toulmé, now CSO of Novaptech, Jean-Louis Mergny, who succeeded him as director of the IECB until 2018, and Gilles Guichard recalled this history during their presentation and recounted many anecdotes about the life of the IECB.

See you in 10 years, Léon!


For those interested in Léon Ghosez's career and his relationship with chemistry, we invite you to read the epic he wrote in 2019: A lifetime journey into the world of chemistry, Tetrahedron, 2019, 75, 130345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tet.2019.05.02