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AROUND THE QUADS

In Lumine Tuo

HONORED

Koji Nakanishi, Centennial Professor of Chemistry, has been named a recipient of the prestigious King Faisal International Prize in Science. A senior faculty member whose research in organic chemistry is internationally recognized, Nakanishi is the author of 750 papers. The King Faisal Foundation cited Nakanishi’s wide field of scientific accomplishment in bestowing the award.

“His research in biologically active natural products had exceptional scientific and economic value,” the foundation noted. “He has established the properties and elucidated the structures of many chemical compounds including antibiotics, carcinogenic materials and anticancer products.”

Nakanishi’s recent research concentrates on the interaction of light with the molecules responsible for vision. These studies are likely to accelerate the development of a treatment for macular degeneration, which affects many elderly people and leads to sight loss.

“Koji is an undisputed leader in the isolation and structure determination of biologically important natural products. He has designed unique methodologies for structure determination on submicroscale of diverse organic molecules. His methods have promoted natural product studies to a higher level,” said Bruce J. Berne, Higgins Professor of Chemistry and department chair.

Nakanishi was co-winner of the prize with Marion Fredrick Hawthorne, professor of chemistry at UC Berkeley.

The King Faisal International Prize is awarded annually in the fields of science, medicine, Arabic language and literature, Islamic studies and service to Islam. It is part of the King Faisal Foundation, Saudi Arabia’s most prominent philanthropic organization.

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