Tolman Award Dinner honoring Prof. Michael Jung

Posted on

Tolman small

Professor Michael Jung was awarded the American Chemical Society Southern California Section’s highest honor, the Tolman Medal, on April 27, 2016.

Select photos from the event can be viewed below and the complete set can be viewed on the photo gallery.

Over 100 faculty, students, alumni and staff attended the Richard C. Tolman Award dinner at the UCLA Faculty Center. In his Tolman address, “Drug Discovery in Academia: Successful Case Studies”, Prof. Jung discussed the process of drug discovery in academia and gave examples of prior and ongoing collaborations and the biology and chemistry leading to the approved drug, enzalutamide [Xtandi].

Montage3
(From left) In his remarks, Prof. and Chair Miguel Garcia-Garibay spoke of Prof. Jung’s many contributions to UCLA.  Prof. Jung’s spouse, Alice Jung.

Co-nominator Professor and Chair Miguel Garcia-Garibay spoke of Prof. Jung’s many contributions to UCLA. “Mike is one of the most accomplished and inspiring teachers on our campus, not only covering great science in his lectures, but as a good Louisianan, he spices them up with witty humor and charming language,” he said. “Mike’s contributions to science cover a wide range of organic chemistry from mechanism, to new methods to total synthesis, to his recent excursions into medicinal chemistry. It is people like Mike that help our department be ranked No. 6 in the world by U.S. News & World Report.”

Montage2 0

(From left) Prof. Ken Houk spoke of Prof. Jung’s many contributions,

In his remarks, co-nominator Prof. Ken Houk said “Mike has made landmark discoveries that have contributed mightily to human health and have enriched the University of California as well. He really does embody what the University is all about – great teaching and mentorship of undergrads, grads, and postdocs too, ground-breaking research, and interactions with the outside world by advising the pharmaceutical industry and creating new drugs himself. He has been a wonderful colleague to all of us, and we are delighted that Mike has won the Tolman medal.”

Michael Morgan, Chair of the Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society (pictured below), presented the Tolman Award to Prof. Jung.  In his closing remarks Prof. Joseph Rudnick, Dean of Physical Sciences, echoed the praise for Prof. Jung’s research and contributions to UCLA.

DSC 3221 0
Michael Morgan, Chair of the Southern California Section of the American Chemical Society, presented the Tolman Award to Prof. Jung.  

Montage7
(From left) Dean of Physical Sciences Prof. Joseph Rudnick made the closing remarks.  Alice and Michael Jung.

Since 1960, the award has been given annually to Southern California researchers for outstanding contributions to chemistry. The honor is named for distinguished California Institute of Technology scientist Tolman (1881–1948), who in 1917 famously showed that the electron was the charge-carrying particle in metals. A byproduct of this experiment was the measured value of the mass of the electron. Tolman Medal recipients include seven Nobel Prize winners.

Montage6
Prof. Michael Jung  presented his Tolman address at the event which took place at the UCLA Faculty Center.

Prof. Jung is the 15th UCLA Chemistry and Biochemistry faculty member to be awarded the medal. Previous winners are William G. Young (1960), Francis E. Blacet (1968), Robert L. Pecsok (1970), Howard Reiss (1973), Herbert Kaesz (1980), Nobel Laureate Paul D. Boyer (1981), Nobel Laureate Donald C. Cram (1984), M. Frederick Hawthorne (1986), Mostafa El-Sayed (1989),  Christopher S. Foote (1995), Kendall N. Houk (1998), Fred Wudl (2005), Joan S. Valentine (2008), Richard B. Kaner (2009).

DSC 3294
Prof. Jung with members of his research group.

To learn more about Prof. Jung’s research visit his group’s website.

All the photos from the event can be viewed on the photo gallery.

Photos by Penny Jennings, UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry