Dutch chemist Jacobus Hendricus van't Hoff (1852–1911), the winner of the first Nobel Prize in chemistry (1901), pioneered the study of molecular structure and stereochemistry. Van't Hoff proposed that the concept of an asymmetrical carbon atom explained the existence of numerous isomers that had baffled the chemists of the day. Van't Hoff's work gave eventual rise to stereochemistry when he correctly described the existence of a relationship between a molecule's optical properties and the presence of an asymmetrical carbon atom.
The stereochemistry of carbon is important in all biological processes. Stereochemistry is also important in geology, especially mineralogy, with dealing with silicon based geochemistry.
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