Return to Previous Press Release
Enter your name and a friend's email address in the fields below and click "Submit" to email this Press Release to a friend.
Your message will look like this:
[YOUR NAME HERE] thought you might be interested in this story from the University of Rochester.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Sherwood 585.273.4726
October 9, 2003
Marshall D. Gates, Jr., emeritus professor and C. F. Houghton Professor of
Chemistry at the University of Rochester, will be honored and remembered with
the dedication of a new chair in the Department of Chemistry. Gates, known worldwide
as the first person to synthesize morphine in the laboratory, died Oct. 1 at
his Pittsford (N.Y.) home. A scholar and teacher at the University of Rochester
since 1949, Gates was 88.
The ceremony for the dedication of the new named professorship and the gathering
to reflect on Gates' influence in the department will be held on Oct. 10, from
5 to 6 p.m. Robert K. Boeckman Jr., professor of chemistry and chair of the
department, will also be honored at the event as he takes his place as the first
holder of the new Marshall D. Gates, Jr. Chair of Chemistry.
In 1952, Gates established the Department of Chemistry as a major center of
chemistry research when he made the breakthrough of synthesizing morphine for
the first time in a laboratory. He subsequently created hundreds of compounds
and was awarded 13 patents in his quest for the perfect painkiller. He was recognized
as the C. F. Houghton Professor of Chemistry in 1968, and when he retired in
1981 on his 65th birthday, he became professor emeritus.
"My father had been thrilled about the chair," said his daughter,
Virginia Searl. "He thought Bob Boeckman was the perfect person for it."
Following closely in the footsteps of Gates, Boeckman has devoted his research
career to developing new tools that pharmaceutical companies can use in the
discovery and development of new drugs. His specialty, the three-dimensional
design of complex organic molecules, leads the way in designing drugs that can
create a desired effect with a minimum of harmful side effects.
"I am really honored to be chosen as the first to hold the Marshall D.
Gates Jr. Chair in Chemistry," says Boeckman. "Marshall was an important
figure in organic chemistry in the 20th century, and since my own research is
in the area of organic synthesis, it is a special recognition to hold a chair
named in his honor. My fond hope is that my contributions will uphold the standard
and proud tradition he established."
With funding from the National Institutes of Health and several pharmaceutical
companies, Boeckman tests out his new tools on particularly challenging or important
compounds, including antibiotics, anti-cancer drugs, and drugs to help prevent
organ rejection. His group is now trying to make a drug that can prevent rejection
in kidney transplants more quickly, less expensively, and with less toxicity.
A graduate of Carnegie Institute of Technology and Brandeis University, Boeckman
has won several awards and is a frequent consultant to the pharmaceutical industry.
He has trained dozens of chemists, most of whom are now working in industry.
Boeckman came to the University in 1980 from Wayne State University, where he
was a chemistry professor. He has coauthored more than 120 research papers and
book chapters, principally in the area of synthetic organic chemistry.
Boeckman's academic honors include an A.P. Sloan Fellowship, the Probus Club
Award of Wayne State University for excellence in research, a Research Career
Development Award from the National Institutes of Health, a, research prize
from the Alexander Von Humboldt Stiftung, and a Fellowship from the Japanese
Society for the Promotion of Science.
The University of Rochester (www.rochester.edu) is one of the nation's leading private universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives students exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering is complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, Schools of Medicine and Nursing, and the Memorial Art Gallery.
PR 44, MS 0