Ben List’s research focuses on chemical synthesis and catalysis. He has contributed and pioneered fundamental concepts in organocatalysis including aminocatalysis, enamine catalysis, and asymmetric counteranion directed catalysis (ACDC). After his finding of the proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric intermolecular aldol reaction in 2000, Ben List’s group has discovered the first proline-catalyzed asymmetric Mannich reaction, novel Michael additions, and aldehyde α-alkylations. He has also contributed to a clear mechanistic understanding of enamine catalysis and established the basis for the design of new reactions and catalysts. His latest work deals with chiral anions in asymmetric catalysis. His general concept of asymmetric counteranion directed catalysis has recently found widespread use in organocatalysis, transition metal catalysis, and Lewis acid catalysis.
The research of Ben List’s group has been recognized with several awards, including the Synthesis-Synlett Journal Award (2000), the Otto-Bayer-Prize (2012), the Horst-Pracejus-Prize (2013), the Mukaiyama Award (2013), the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award (2014), and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Prize (2016). In 2018 he became an elected member of the German National Academy of Science Leopoldina.