| Citation | Distinguished for major contributions to our understahding of the geological fate of natural product organic compounds, in particular acyclic isoprenoids, porphyrins, steroids and hopanoid triterpenoids. Through imaginative and persistent application of state-of-the-art organic chemistry, Maxwell has wrested precise and molecular information from the complex mixtures of compounds found in sediments and petroleums. He made the first determination of the absolute configuration of a sedimentary cycloalkanoporphyrin, the latter forming a basis for the present level of understanding of the sedimentary fate of chlorophylls. He was also the first to demonstrate that acyclic isoprenoid and steroid hydrocargons show progressive structural and configurational changes with increasing sediment burial depth. His work, honoured internationally by the Treibs Medal of the Geochemical Society, has led to the widespread application of molecular parameters of oil exploration through correlation studies and the assessment of the thermal history of sedimentary basins. |