Karl Barry Sharpless won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry on Wednesday for “the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.” The award was shared with two other scientists–  Carolyn R. Bertozzi and Morten Meldal.

Barry Sharpless won his second Nobel Prize, becoming the fifth individual in history to get the award twice. The only other people who have been given a Nobel Prize twice are John Bardeen, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Linus Pauling and Frederick Sanger.

Also Read: Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless win 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Barry Sharpless, born in April 1941, received his first Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2001. The prize, which was split three ways, was given to Sharpless “for his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions.” Sharpless is affiliated with Scripps Research, California.

Sharpless was given 1/2 of the Nobel Prize, while fellow scientists William S. Knowles and Ryoji Noyori received a quarter each, according to the Nobel Prize Committee.

In 2022, Barry Sharpless’ work, known as click chemistry and bioorthogonal reactions, is used to map DNA and create materials that are tailored to a specific purpose. It is also used to make medications that help treat cancer, news agency Associated Press reported.

The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on Dec. 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1895.

Last year the prize was awarded to scientists Benjamin List and David W.C. MacMillan for finding an ingenious and environmentally cleaner way to build molecules that the Nobel panel said is “already benefiting humankind greatly.”  

Also Read: Nobel Prize: 3 lesser-known facts about the Physics award

Bertozzi is based at Stanford University in California and Meldal is at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, news agency Associated Press reported.

Hans Ellegren, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announced the winners Wednesday at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.