Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Stereochemistry of Bistricyclic Aromatic
Enes and Related Polycyclic Systems
P. Ulrich Biedermann and Israel Agranat
Abstract Bistricyclic aromatic enes (BAEs) and related polycyclic systems are a
class of molecular materials that display a rich variety of conformations, dynamic
stereochemistry and switchable chirality, color, and spectroscopic properties. This
is due to the a subtle interplay of the inherent preference for planarity of aromatic
systems and the competing necessity of non-planarity due to intramolecular
overcrowding in the fjord regions built into the general molecular structure of
BAEs. The conformational, dynamic, and spectroscopic properties may be
In Memoriam Professor Dr. John J. Stezowski.
This review chapter is dedicated to the memory of Professor Dr. John J. Stezowski (1942-2007),
Professor of Chemistry, University of Nebraska in Lincoln (1991-2007), an eminent scientist and
teacher, a leader in crystallography, a dedicated adviser, and a valued friend and colleague.
Professor Stezowski was born in Chicago. He received the B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from Case
Institute of Technology (1964) and the Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Michigan State University
(1969). He was a postdoctoral Research Associate at Cornell University. In 1972, Professor
Stezowski moved to the Institut f¨r Organische Chemie der Universit¨t Stuttgart; his
Habilitation was completed in 1981. In 1986 he was appointed Universit¨tsprofessor in
Structural Chemistry at the Universit¨t Stuttgart, where he led a highly successful program in
organic and protein crystallography. Professor Stezowski was a founder and chair of the IUCr
Commission on Small Molecules (aka Commission on Chemical Crystallography). His research
interests and activities were focused primarily on structural studies of complex organic molecules,
especially supramolecular inclusion complexes with beta-cyclodextrin hosts. Professor Stezowski
has been a structural chemist par excellence.
