Harry Kroto (1939–2016)

Harry Kroto was part of the team that discovered buckminsterfullerene, the football-shaped carbon-60 molecule that came to be known as a buckyball. The realization that such a large molecule could self-assemble from hot carbon vapour forced a reassessment of the science of carbon. By prompting searches for other structures — carbon nanotubes and nanowires were among the materials later found — the discovery ultimately provided a foundation for nanoscience and nanotechnology.