David Christianson Receives American Chemical Society Philadelphia Section Award

David Christianson, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology and Department Chair

David W. Christianson, Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor in Chemistry and Chemical Biology and department chair, is the 2021 recipient of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Philadelphia Section Award, given to a member who has made important contributions to the field of chemistry and thereby aided the public appreciation of the profession. He will be honored and deliver a talk during a virtual ceremony on October 14.

Christianson’s research focuses on the structure and function of metal-requiring enzymes. In recent years, his work has illuminated complex molecular mechanisms in the biosynthesis of terpenes, a family of natural products that includes menthol, cholesterol, and the anticancer drug Taxol. He has been named an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellow, a Searle Scholar, and a Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar. Christianson’s other awards include the Repligen Award in Chemistry of Biological Processes and the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry from the Biological Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society. In 2017 he earned the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, the highest teaching honor at the University.

The mission of the ACS is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. Its vision is to improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry. The Philadelphia Section is one of the largest local sections in the ACS, with over 5000 members.

 

Arts & Sciences News

Azuma and Hart Named Roy F. and Jeannette P. Nichols Professors of American History

Eiichiro Azuma specializes in Asian American and transpacific history, while Emma Hart teaches and researches the history of early North America, the Atlantic World, and early modern Britain between 1500 and 1800.

View Article >
Arts & Sciences Students Honored during 37th Annual Women of Color Day

Sade Taiwo, C’25, and Kyndall Nicholas, a Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience, were honored for their work.

View Article >
Nine College Students and Alums Named Thouron Scholars; Will Pursue Graduate Studies in the U.K.

The Scholars are six seniors and three recent graduates whose majors range from neuroscience to communication.

View Article >
Irma Elo Named Tamsen and Michael Brown Presidential Professor in Sociology

Elo’s main research interests center on inequalities in health and mortality across the life course and demographic estimation of mortality. In recent years, she has extended her research to include predictors of cognition in high-, middle-, and low-income countries.

View Article >
Julia Hartmann Named Fay R. and Eugene L. Langberg Professor in Mathematics

She specializes in algebra and arithmetic geometry, a newer field that applies techniques from algebraic geometry to solve problems in number theory and co-developed the method of field patching.

View Article >
Holger Sieg Named Baird Term Professor of Economics

Sieg focuses his research on public and urban economics, as well as the political economy of state and local governments.

View Article >