Burke Recognized for Professional Accomplishments Twice in Recent Months

Date
05/31/14

Professor Martin Burke has received two notable prizes in recent months.

The first is the 2014 Thieme IUPAC Prize in Synthetic Organic Chemistry. This prize is awarded to a scientist under 40 whose research has had a major impact in synthetic organic chemistry. It is presented every two years at the IUPAC International Conference on Organic Synthesis. Two Illinois faculty members have won the prize previously: Eric Jacobson in 1996 and John Hartwig in 2004. See http://www.thieme-chemistry.com/en/our-service/conferences/thieme-iupac-prize.html

The second is the 2014 Yoshimasa Hirata Gold Medal, which is sponsored by the Hirata Memorial Foundation and Nagoya University. It is awarded for excellence in synthetic organic chemistry, and the medalist gives a lecture at Nagoya University. Marty is the first Illinois chemist to receive this award. The award honors Yoshimasa Hirata, who was a Professor of Chemistry at Nagoya University and later at Meijo University. His research program was extensive and significant; particularly well known was his work on toxic compounds such as tetrodotoxin and palytoxin, his study of bioluminescent compounds, and his work on bioactive compounds of plant origin. See http://orgreact.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp/hirata_org/en/lecture.html

Professor Burke completed his undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University in 1998 and his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 2003. After completing an M.D. at Harvard Medical School, he joined the faculty in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Illinois in June of 2005. His research interests are in the area of organic chemistry with a specific focus on the synthesis and study of small molecules with protein-like functions.

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