Mario Molina

Mario Molina was a Mexican American chemist. He was born in Mexico City in 1943. He co-discovered that certain chemicals were destroying Earth's ozone layer. His work led to a global ban on those chemicals and won him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Early Life

Molina was fascinated by science from a young age. He turned a bathroom in his house into a chemistry lab. He studied in Mexico and then moved to the United States for graduate school. At MIT, he began studying how chemicals affect the atmosphere.

Saving the Ozone Layer

In 1974, Molina and his colleague F. Sherwood Rowland published a paper showing that CFC chemicals were destroying the ozone layer. The ozone layer protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. Their work led to the Montreal Protocol, which banned CFCs worldwide. Molina won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995.

Fun Facts

• Mario Molina turned a bathroom in his home into a chemistry lab as a child.
• The Montreal Protocol, inspired by his research, has been signed by every country in the world.
• He was the first Mexican-born person to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Did You Know?

Thanks to Mario Molina's research and the ban on CFCs, the ozone layer is slowly healing. Scientists expect it to fully recover by about 2066.