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PHILADELPHIA, PA — 25 January 2006 — The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) today announced that Ronald Breslow, groundbreaking researcher, inspiring teacher, tireless leader, prolific author, and energetic spokesperson for the world of chemistry, has been selected to receive the 2006 Othmer Gold Medal. The award ceremony and the annual Othmer Gold Medal Luncheon will be the first event in the fifth annual Heritage Day on Thursday, 18 May 2006.
"An individual of multifaceted talents and great achievements, Ron Breslow combines a brilliance in research with a motivation to tell the story of chemical achievement to all who will listen," said Arnold Thackray, president of CHF. "He is the central architect of two major areas of research: biomimetic systems and nonbenzenoid aromatic chemistry. His work offers promise of important breakthroughs in the fight against cancer by modulating gene transcription in cancer cells."
Breslow is celebrating his 50th anniversary on the faculty of Columbia University, which he joined after undergraduate and graduate studies at Harvard. He has been active on many levels in the National Academy of Sciences and the American Chemical Society (ACS president, 1996; Priestley Medal, 1999). "Ronald Breslow is one of the most brilliant chemists in the world," said Madeleine Jacobs, executive director and CEO of the ACS. "What really amazes Ron's colleagues and makes him so worthy of the Othmer Gold Medal is the astonishing range of important chemical fields that he's pioneered and continues to tackle."
Breslow is the author of about 400 publications, including a widely acclaimed 1996 book, Chemistry Today and Tomorrow: The Central, Useful, and Creative Science. In addition to numerous honors and awards, he holds the National Medal of Science and has been named one of the top 75 contributors to the chemical enterprise in the past 75 years. He is an accomplished pianist whose public repertoire extends from popular songs to improvisational jazz. Colleagues continue to marvel at the breadth and depth of his intellect and of his passion and enthusiasm for chemistry. "He has an uncommon capacity for engaging all sorts of people in conversation; he is not only a gifted scientist, but a great spokesperson for the public image and relevance of chemistry," says CHF board member Paul Anderson, himself a Perkin and Priestley Medal recipient.
About the Othmer Gold Medal
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) established the Othmer Gold Medal in 1997 to honor outstanding individuals who have made multifaceted contributions to our chemical and scientific heritage through outstanding activity in such areas as innovation, entrepreneurship, research, education, public understanding, legislation, or philanthropy.
The medal is presented annually and cosponsored by CHF and four affiliated organizations: the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Chemists’ Club, and the Société de Chimie Industrielle (American Section). The medal commemorates Donald Othmer (1904–1995), noted researcher, consultant, editor, engineer, inventor, philanthropist, professor, and coeditor of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology.
CHF gratefully acknowledges John Wiley & Sons, Inc., for donating a set of the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology each year to the institution chosen by the Othmer Gold Medal recipient.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation serves the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and inspiring the future. CHF carries out a program of outreach and interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping society; maintains a world-class collection of materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; and encourages research in its collections.
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