Richard Frederick Heck(August 15, 1931 – October 9, 2015) was an American chemist noted for the discovery and development of theHeck reaction, which usespalladiumto catalyzeorganic chemicalreactions that couplearyl halideswithalkenes. The analgesicnaproxenis an example of a compound that is prepared industrially using the Heck reaction. For his work inpalladium-catalyzed coupling reactionsandorganic synthesis, Heck was awarded the 2010Nobel Prize in Chemistry, shared with the Japanese chemistsEi-ichi NegishiandAkira Suzuki. Fields: Chemistry