Alumnus Vincent Pecoraro (BS biochemistry ’77) has been awarded the prestigious ACS Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry.
Prof. Pecoraro is the John T. Groves Collegiate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He received his B.S. in biochemistry at UCLA in 1977 and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the UC Berkeley in 1981.
The American Chemistry Society (ACS) award recognizes individuals who advanced inorganic chemistry by significant service in addition to performance of outstanding research. Prof. Pecoraro will be honored at the March 2016 at the annual ACS meeting in San Diego, California.
From Chemistry & Engineering News
:
ACS Award For Distinguished Service In The Advancement Of Inorganic Chemistry: Vincent L. Pecoraro
Sponsor: Strem Chemicals
Citation: For outstanding contributions to research and major service in the discipline of inorganic chemistry.
Pecoraro on what gets him inspired: “A reproducible, unexpected result. While it is always gratifying to build a molecule, achieve a desired physical property, or be able to complete specific catalysis from first principles in a predictable manner, the most exciting times are when a new result challenges one’s preconceptions about how nature works. At that point, we move from the application of existing principles to the search for new knowledge.”
What his colleagues say: “Vince is without question one of the top synthetic inorganic chemists practicing today. It is exceedingly rare that an individual can make a single groundbreaking advance, yet Vince has been capable of doing this in four different areas: manganese bioinorganic chemistry, vanadium bioinorganic chemistry, de novo designed metallopeptides, and metallamacrocycles, a field which he founded.”- Melanie Sanford, University of Michigan
