Karl Ziegler (1898 – 1973), a world-renowned scientist and pioneer in the field of metalorganic chemistry and catalysis, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1963 for the discovery of the process to form a new type of polyethylene, namely high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

Born in Germany in 1898, Ziegler attended the University of Marburg/Lahn, where he studied chemistry and received his doctorate in organic chemistry in 1920. After a brief tenure at the University of Frankfurt/Main, he served ten years as a professor at the University of Heidelberg.

In 1928, Ziegler discovered that combining an organometallic compound containing potassium with an olefin could insert the olefin between the compound and the potassium, thereby lengthening the carbon chain. When an excess of olefin was used, a polymer would result as the addition reaction repeated itself. Ziegler researched the formation of carbon rings, succeeding in creating rings that contained up to 30 carbon atoms with very high yields. The Association of German Chemists awarded him the Liebig Memorial Medal in 1935 for his work in this area and free-radical chemistry.

In 1953, during his tenure as director of Max-Planck-Institut fur Kohlenforschung, Ziegler discovered the low temperature, low-pressure ethylene polymerization process that used metalorganic catalysts, forming a new type of polyethylene known as high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

This discovery revolutionized the petrochemical industry and led to the new field of catalytic polymerization processes. Within a very short time, the discovery transitioned to industrial applications. The first HDPE plant, constructed in Frankfurt by Hoechst AG, came online in 1955. Ziegler was honored for this work, along with Italian chemist Giulio Natta, with the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1963.

Ziegler was instrumental in founding the German Chemical Society in 1949 and served as president for five years. In addition, he served as president of the German Society for Petroleum Science and Coal Chemistry from 1954 to 1957. Honored by scientific organizations around the world, Ziegler received many other awards for his work, including the Carl Duisberg Award, German Chemical Society (1953); Lavoisier Medal, French Chemical Society (1955); Swinburne Medal, Plastics Institute of London (1964).