Richard Frederick Heck was an American chemist noted for the discovery and development of the Heck reaction, which uses palladium to catalyze organic chemical reactions that couple aryl halides with alkenes. The analgesic naproxen is an example of a compound that is prepared industrially using the Heck reaction. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010, announced October 6, 2010. Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, and Akira Suzuki, “for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis”. Richard F. Heck: born 1931, Springfield, MA, USA. Ei-ichi Negishi: born 1935, Changchun, China. Akira Suzuki: born 1930, Mukawa, Japan. Wiki link Wiki link Wiki link Data: the Nobel Foundation (CC0).