Nikola Mollov

For his scientific and educational activity Prof. N. Mollov was awarded with many awards and medals. He was nominated with the title "Honorary Fellow of Science" by the State Council of Bulgaria (1987).

During his work at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Plovdiv "P. Hilendarski" Prof. Mollov worked in collaboration with the Institute of Organic Chemistry (IOCh) of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and since 1980 he headed the Laboratory of Biologically Active Substances of IOCh at the BAS site in Plovdiv. He was Associate Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry in Plovdiv.

In 1974 N. Mollov became a professor in organic chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry of Plovdiv University "Paisiy Hilendarski". Under his scientific leadership for 15 years the Department of Chemistry advanced and became one of the leading scientific and educational institutions in the country.

The second research area of Prof. N. Mollov was developed during the years 1974 to 1992 mainly in the Department of Organic Chemistry of the University of Plovdiv "P. Hilendarski" and at the Laboratory of biologically active substances in Plovdiv site of the Academy of Sciences. The results obtained lead to the invention of several amide herbicides such as Alachlor, Dual Gold et al. Consequently, several new laboratory and manufacturing technologies were developed with the participation of co-workers from the R&D department of "Agria" chemical plant in Plovdiv. Many new compounds were synthesized with expected pesticide activity that was later confirmed by biological screening in the country and abroad.

Nikola Mollov graduated from high school in his hometown of Bourgas, Bulgaria. He obtained his degree in chemistry from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Sofia State University in 1951. He became an assistant professor in the Department of Organic Chemistry in 1952 and worked there until 1962. In 1957 he acquired his Ph.D. degree called "candidate of chemical sciences" and was the first scientist nominated with this title. In 1962, he obtained a senior research fellow II position at the Department of Chemistry of natural organic compounds at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Sofia where he worked until 1974. N. Mollov was awarded with the title "Doctor of chemical sciences” (D.Sc.) for his outstanding contributions in the area of natural product chemistry summarized in the first doctorate thesis in Bulgaria.