Mario Molina Trivia | 55 facts about the Mexican chemist

Mario Molina was a Mexican chemist. He played role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and career.

1. His full name was Mario José Molina Henríquez
2. He was born on 19 March 1943
3. He died on October 7, 2020
4. He was known as Mario Molina, was a Mexican chemist
5. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole
6. Molina was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in discovering the threat to the Earth’s ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases
7. He was the first Mexican-born scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry
8. And the third Mexican-born person to receive a Nobel prize
9. In his career, Molina held research and teaching positions at University of California, Irvine, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego, and the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography
10. Molina was also Director of the Mario Molina Center for Energy and Environment in Mexico City
11. Molina was a climate policy advisor to the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto
12. On 7 October 2020, the National Autonomous University of Mexico announced that Molina had died of a heart attack
13. In Mexico City, 1943, on March 19, Mario Molina was born to Roberto Molina Pasquel, and Leonor Henríquez
14. His father was a lawyer and diplomat who served as an ambassador to Ethiopia, Australia and the Philippines
15. His mother was a family manager
16. With considerably different interests than his parents, Mario Molina went on to make one of the biggest discoveries in environmental science
17. Mario Molina attended both elementary and primary school in Mexico
18. However, before even attending high school, Mario Molina had developed a deep interest in chemistry
19. As a child he converted a bathroom in his home, to his own little laboratory, using toy microscopes and chemistry sets
20. Ester Molina, Mario’s aunt, and an already established chemist, nurtured his interests and aided him in completing more complex chemistry experiments
21. At this time, Mario knew he wanted to pursue a career in chemistry, and at the age of 11, he was sent to a boarding school in Switzerland at Institut auf dem Rosenberg in Switzerland, where he learnt to speak German
22. Before this, Mario had initially wanted to become a professional violinist, but his love for chemistry triumphed over that interest
23. At first Mario was disappointed when he arrived at the boarding school in Switzerland due to the fact that most of his classmates did not have the same interest in science as he did
24. Molina’s early career consisted of research at various academic institutions
25. Molina went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1965
26. Following this, Molina studied polymerization kinetics at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, West Germany for two years
27. Finally, he was accepted for graduate study at the University of California, Berkeley. After earning his doctorate he made his way to UC Irvine
28. He then returned to Mexico where he kickstarted the first chemical engineering program at his alma mater
29. This was only the beginning of his chemistry endeavors
30. Molina received numerous awards and honors
31. Molina was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1993.[44] He was elected to the United States Institute of Medicine in 1996,[45] and The National College of Mexico in 2003.[46] In 2007, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.[47] He was also a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.[5] Molina was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and co-chaired the 2014 AAAS Climate Science Panel, What We Know: The reality, risks and response to climate change.[48]
32. Molina won the 1987 Esselen Award of the Northeast section of the American Chemical Society
33. He won the 1988 Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science
34. The 1989 NASA Medal for Exceptional Scientific Advancement
35. And the 1989 United Nations Environmental Programme Global 500 Award
36. In 1990, The Pew Charitable Trusts Scholars Program in Conservation and the Environment honored him as one of ten environmental scientists and awarded him a $150,000 grant
37. In 1996, Molina received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
38. He received the 1998 Willard Gibbs Award from the Chicago Section of the American Chemical Society
39. And the 1998 American Chemical Society Prize for Creative Advances in Environment Technology and Science
40. In 2003, Molina received the 9th Annual Heinz Award in the Environment
41. Asteroid 9680 Molina is named in his honor
42. On 8 August 2013, U.S. President Barack Obama announced Molina as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
43. Molina was one of twenty-two Nobel Laureates who signed the third Humanist Manifesto in 2003
44. Mario Molina is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (Champions of the Earth) in 2014
45. On March 19, 2023, Molina was the subject of a Google Doodle in Mexico, the United States, Brazil, India, Germany, France, and other countries
46. Molina married fellow chemist Luisa Y. Tan in July 1973
47. They had met each other when Molina was pursuing his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley
48. They moved to Irvine, California in the fall of that year
49. The couple divorced in 2005
50. Luisa Tan Molina is now the lead scientist of the Molina Center for Strategic Studies in Energy and the Environment in La Jolla, California
51. Their son, Felipe Jose Molina, was born in 1977
52. Molina married his second wife, Guadalupe Álvarez, in February 2006
53. Molina died on 7 October 2020
54. He was 77 years old
55. He died due to a heart attack