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We are pleased to announce that Morten Peter Meldal, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Copenhagen, has been elected an Academician of WAAC in recognition of his systematic contributions to click chemistry and the copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC).
Over many years, Professor Meldal has built an evidence chain from methods to applications around “rapid, highly selective modular ligation.” In J. Org. Chem. (2002), together with collaborators, he first reported the Cu(I)-catalyzed, regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between terminal alkynes and azides (CuAAC), laying the foundation for the reaction’s chemistry and for applications in both solid- and solution-phase settings. In Chemical Reviews (2008), he systematically summarized the mechanism, reaction conditions, and wide-ranging uses of CuAAC in peptide and polymer chemistry and in the functionalization of surfaces and nanostructures, establishing “click chemistry” as an efficient, robust, and combinatorial universal ligation paradigm. For “the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry,” he received the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (shared with K. Barry Sharpless and Carolyn R. Bertozzi). Related methods are now widely applied in drug discovery, DNA labeling, and materials creation.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
Academicians of the World Academy for Artificial Consciousness hail from institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of California, the French Academy of Sciences, the University of Padua, the University of Queensland, Columbia University, and the University of Exeter. Honorary Academicians come from a wide range of countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Spain, and China. In addition, leading scientists from prominent research institutes and technology companies—such as Google, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and ZEEKR—also participate.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.