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Release
Nobel Laureate Elias J. Corey
to Receive Honorary Doctorate from UAlbany
Contact:
Catherine Herman (518) 437-4980
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Elias J.
Corey |
ALBANY,
N.Y. (April 22, 2005) -- Elias J. Corey, the
1990 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry,
will be awarded an honorary doctor of science
degree from the State University of New York.
The University at Albany will convene a honorary
degree convocation on Monday, April 25, in
the Life Sciences Research Building. Kermit
L. Hall, president of UAlbany, will host the
event.
Corey, Sheldon Emory Professor of Chemistry
at Harvard University, has been widely recognized
for his distinguished career as a scientist,
teacher and consultant to industry. In addition
to his Nobel Prize, Corey was also awarded
the Priestly Medal in 2004, the highest award
given by the American Chemical Society for
extraordinary intellectual achievements, outstanding
professional and public service, and a high
standard of excellence in fields of endeavor.
In 1988, Corey was honored with the National
Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan.
Corey's work has encompassed a broad
array of issues including theoretical organic
chemistry, development of new synthetic methods
and synthesis of biologically important natural
products. Corey was awarded the Nobel Prize "for
his development of the theory and methodology
of organic synthesis." Corey began developing
the theories that he would be recognized for
as a student at the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology. His 1989 book "The Logic
of Chemical Synthesis," co-authored with
Xue-Min Cheng, laid out the principles of strategic
disconnections, an approach Corey has been
teaching to graduate students since the 1960s.
Two of Corey's former students also went on
to earn the Nobel Prize, Bengt Samuelson in
1982 for Physiology and Medicine, and Ryoji
Noyori in 2001 for Chemistry.
"Corey had the amazing ability to run
a group of 40 scientists at one time, each
having important, original projects to work
on, and each having unrestricted daily access
to him," said Eric Block, Distinguished
Professor of Chemistry at the UAlbany, who
received his Ph.D. at Harvard with Corey in
1967. "His scientific ideas are so good,
and his publications so prolific and notable,
that he was recently acknowledged as the single
most highly cited current author in the field
of chemistry. Those lucky enough to work for
Corey found that his personal interest in his
now more than 700 former students continued
even after they left Harvard. I can personally
recall instances of this generosity of time
and thoughtfulness over the years.
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