Richard E. Smalley (Richard Smalley)

Richard E. Smalley was an American chemist best known for co-discovering fullerenes—molecular structures composed entirely of carbon, shaped like hollow spheres or tubes. These "buckyballs" and nanotubes have unique properties that make them valuable in materials science, electronics, and medicine. Smalley's work helped advance nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter on an atomic scale. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996 along with colleagues Robert Curl and Harold Kroto for this discovery. His research has paved the way for innovations in stronger materials, improved electronic devices, and new medical technologies.