Object Details
Artist
Luis Mallo, born 1962
Sitter
Mario Molina, 19 Mar 1943 - 7 Oct 2020
Exhibition Label
Environmental chemist Mario Molina demonstrated that compounds found in everyday products like refrigerants and aerosol cans significantly contribute to ozone destruction. In the 1970s, scientists had grown concerned about the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet radiation. The topic sparked international alarm in the early 1980s, when scientists discovered an ozone “hole,” an area with extremely diminished amounts of stratospheric ozone, over Antarctica.
Although the cause was initially debated, Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland, his collaborator at the University of California, Irvine, widely publicized their discovery to prevent further environmental damage. They also advocated for the Montreal Protocol (1987), an important global agreement that reduced the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances. In 1995, Molina was a cowinner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for research that “contributed to our salvation from a global environmental problem that could have catastrophic consequences.”
El químico ambientalista Mario Molina demostró que ciertos compuestos presentes en productos de uso diario, como los refrigerantes y las latas de aerosol, contribuyen de modo significativo a la destrucción del ozono. En la década de 1970, los científicos ya estaban preocupados por el desgaste de la capa de ozono en la estratosfera, la cual protege a la Tierra de la peligrosa radiación ultravioleta del sol. El tema causó alarma mundial a principios de la década de 1980, cuando se descubrió sobre Antártica un “agujero”, o área donde se había reducido drástica mente el ozono estratosférico.
Aunque hubo debates sobre la causa, Molina y F. Sherwood Rowland, su colaborador en la Universidad de California, Irvine, difundieron su descubrimiento para evitar mayores daños ambien tales. También promovieron el Protocolo de Montreal (1987), un importante acuerdo mundial que redujo la producción y el consumo de sustancias adversas el ozono. En 1995 Molina compartió el Premio Nobel de Química por sus investigaciones que “contribuyeron a salvarnos de un problema am biental mundial que podría tener consecuencias catastróficas”.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from Smithsonian Latino Center
Date
c. 2003
Object number
NPG.2021.162
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Copyright
© Luis Mallo
Type
Photograph
Medium
Inkjet print
Dimensions
Image: 53.3 × 81.4 cm (21 × 32 1/16")
Sheet: 69.1 × 96.5 cm (27 3/16 × 38")
Mount: 75.7 × 101 cm (29 13/16 × 39 3/4")
Frame: 86.5 × 112 × 4.5 cm (34 1/16 × 44 1/8 × 1 3/4")
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Interior
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Seating\Chair
Costume\Jewelry\Ring
Home Furnishings\Furniture\Table
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
Interior\Laboratory
Equipment\Laboratory Equipment
Equipment\Scientific apparatus
Mario Molina: Male
Mario Molina: Science and Technology\Scientist\Chemist
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.2021.162