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Stephen J Benkovic

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Fields
  
Biochemistry

Role
  
Chemist

Name
  
Stephen Benkovic


Stephen J. Benkovic chempsuedudirectorysjb1imagenormal

Born
  
April 20, 1938 (age 85) Orange, New Jersey (
1938-04-20
)

Alma mater
  
Lehigh University, Cornell University, University of California, Santa Barbara

Notable awards
  
National Medal of Science (2010) NAS Award in Chemical Sciences (2011)

Education
  
Cornell University (1963), Lehigh University (1960), University of California, Santa Barbara

Awards
  
Benjamin Franklin Medal

Institutions
  
Penn State University

Academic advisors
  
Thomas C. Bruice

Stephen J. Benkovic | Wikipedia audio article


Stephen James Benkovic (born April 20, 1938) is an American chemist. He is Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at Penn State University. His research has focused on mechanistic enzymology and the discovery of enzyme inhibitors. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1985.

Contents

Early life and education

Benkovic was born in Orange, New Jersey. He earned his B.S. degree in chemistry and an A.B. degree in English literature from Lehigh University in 1960. He earned his Ph.D in organic chemistry from Cornell University in 1963.

Career

Benkovic was a postdoc at University of California, Santa Barbara. There he and his advisor Thomas C. Bruice developed bioorganic textbooks that focused on enzyme catalysis. He joined the chemistry department at Penn State University in 1965. There, he uses the T4 DNA polymerase as a model system to explain the proficiency of enzymes. He also uses the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase and the pathway for de novo purine biosynthesis to gain insights into enzymatic catalysis.

Awards and distinctions

  • 1984 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1985 - Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
  • 1998 - Chemical Pioneer Award
  • 2000 - Christian B. Anfinsen Award
  • 2002 - Elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society
  • 2005 - Nakanishi Prize
  • 2009 - Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science
  • 2010 - Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry
  • 2010 - National Medal of Science
  • 2011 - NAS Award in Chemical Sciences
  • References

    Stephen J. Benkovic Wikipedia