Victor Snieckus

Victor Snieckus (August 1, 1937 - December 18, 2020 ) was a synthetic organic chemist and professor emeritus at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. He was known for his influential research on directed ortho metalation.

Early life and education Snieckus was born in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1937. His family fled to Germany during World War II and in 1948 immigrated to Alberta, Canada. Snieckus received his bachelor's degree in chemistry from University of Alberta in 1959, his master's degree from University of California, Berkeley in 1961, and his PhD from the University of Oregon in 1965 under the supervision of Virgil Boekelheide.

Snieckus relocated to Queen's University in 1998, where he assumed the Bader Chair of Chemistry. He retired and became professor emeritus in 2009. Throughout his career Snieckus consulted for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.

Research Snieckus' research interests in organic synthesis focused on metalation and particularly lithiation. He is best known for his work on the directed ortho metalation family of reactions. His work has had practical applications in both academic and industrial settings, particularly in the industrial-scale synthesis of pharmaceuticals and in an agricultural antifungal.