NATTA, GIULIO

(1903–1979)

Born in Imperia near Genoa, Giulio Natta was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 and was the long-time director of the department of industrial chemistry at Milan’s Politecnico University. Natta’s work in the field of macromolecular structure, especially polymers, led in 1953 to the invention of isotactic polypropylene. This was not just ivory tower theorizing, but work with enormous practical advantages. Without Natta’s work we would today not have (or would have waited for) industrial packaging, disposable diapers, cling-film, and dozens of other uses of plastic. In effect, Natta’s work transformed the study of polymers from an academic inquiry into a huge opportunity for the chemical industry. Natta produced some 700 scientific papers during his life; the Nobel was just the greatest of dozens of prizes awarded to him during his career. He died in Bergamo (Lombardy) in May 1979.