American Chemical Society Comment On Award Of 2008 Nobel Prize In Chemistry

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 09 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Bruce E. Bursten, Ph.D., president of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, comments on today's award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, and Roger Y. Tsien.

"What a wonderful choice! This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry showcases chemistry's critical but often-invisible role in fostering advances in biology and medicine. Green fluorescent proteins allow scientists quite literally to see the growth of cancer and study Alzheimer's disease and other conditions that affect millions of people. This is chemistry at its very best, improving people's lives. We at the American Chemical Society heartily congratulate these new Nobel laureates, and know that the advances they fostered will continue to reap benefits for humanity in the years ahead."

The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. With more than 160,000 members, it is the world's largest scientific society. ACS's main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

Bruce Bursten, Ph.D., is 2008 President of the American Chemical Society, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and Distinguished Professor of Chemistry. The author or co-author of more than 140 scientific papers, Bursten's research in inorganic chemistry focuses on the correlation of theoretical and experimental electronic structural data with the bonding and reactivity patterns of metal-containing molecules. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

American Chemical Society