Professor Ken Houk has been awarded one of the 2022 Akira Suzuki Awards, the ICReDD Award, from the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (ICReDD), in recognition of the remarkable results he has achieved in the field of computational (theoretical) chemistry.
A professor of organic chemistry at UCLA, Houk has pioneered the use of computer calculations and simulations to study organic chemistry and to predict chemical reactivity that will have important applications in industry and in therapies for fighting disease. He has been recognized around the world for the impact of his scientific discoveries. Although Houk retired in 2016 after 31 years at UCLA, he has continued to have a thriving research group.
The 2022 Akira Suzuki Awards are bestowed by the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery, Hokkaido University (WPI-ICReDD). The 2nd Annual Akira Suzuki Awards Ceremony is scheduled to take place on January 11, 2023. The awards ceremony and award lectures will be viewable online.
The Akira Suzuki Awards were established in 2021 by the Akira Suzuki Award Organization Committee in commemoration of Professor Akira Suzuki being awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and to celebrate his 90th birthday. The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding contributions to research in the discovery of chemical reactions, defined in the broadest sense, and to contribute to the advancement of science and technology.
The two Akira Suzuki Awards are bestowed upon a researcher who has achieved remarkable results in the development of chemical reactions in the field of experimental chemistry (Akira Suzuki Award) or the fields of computational (theoretical) chemistry and information science (ICReDD Award). Each award is given to one person each year, regardless of age or nationality.
The 2022 Akira Suzuki Award was awarded to Professor John F. Hartwig, University of California, Berkeley.
To learn more, visit the awards announcement.
Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, penny@chem.ucla.edu.
