Frank Furious and the Very Cross Coupling: A Pre-Emptive Eulogy

Abstract: It is with sadness, confusion, and relief that the chemistry community prepares to farewell one of its most colourful members. Frank Furious (1974–TBA) was, and technically still is, an Austrian American synthetic chemist, known for his work in palladium catalysis, and for dancing naked on the bar at an ACS annual meeting in 1998. He is currently in a coma at St Ethylbert’s Hospital in Luton, following a serious lab accident earlier this week. In a statement on Wednesday, a presiding doctor said “Oh yeah, he’s gonna croak for sure. He’s only hung on this long out of spite.” Thus, we feel the time is right to celebrate Frank’s life and share some stories of our time with him.