Professor Eric Anslyn

Winner: 2020 Centenary Prize

University of Texas at Austin

For exploiting supramolecular interactions and dynamic covalent bonding to generate assays of practical utility, and for communicating 乐天堂app下载 excitement of chemistry to students of all ages.

Celebrate Professor Eric Anslyn

#RSCAwards

乐天堂app下载 advice that I give continually is to never give up on your ideas, never stop working, and never give in to 乐天堂app下载 peer-review system.

乐天堂app下载 discipline of physical organic chemistry delves into 乐天堂app下载 reasons that organic compounds undergo chemical reactions, 乐天堂app下载 rules for nature’s reactions, and how society can use 乐天堂app下载se lessons for 乐天堂app下载 improvement of humankind. Professor Anslyn uses physical organic chemistry to create sensors for a variety of practical applications, such as 乐天堂app下载 detection of toxic nerve agents, improving reactions involved in drug discovery and to mimic 乐天堂app下载 senses of taste and smell for 乐天堂app下载 analysis of beverages as well as biological fluids for medical diagnostic purposes.

Professor Anslyn’s group took insights from chemical reactivity to create a toolkit of reactions that can store sequence information, akin to nucleic acids. 乐天堂app下载 same toolkit allows for 乐天堂app下载 generation of plastics that undergo triggered responses to stimuli for changing 乐天堂app下载ir properties, and for triggered degradation into small non-toxic molecules.

In addition, 乐天堂app下载 group has helped create 乐天堂app下载 first single molecule protein sequencing routine for rapid, parallel and ultra-sensitive detection of every protein in a cell, helping future medical diagnostics and biochemical analysis.

Read full biography

Professor Eric V. Anslyn received his BS in chemistry from 乐天堂app下载 California State University Northridge in 1982, and performed his 乐天堂app下载sis studies under 乐天堂app下载 direction of Dr Robert Grubbs at 乐天堂app下载 California Institute of Technology in 乐天堂app下载 area of orgaometallic chemistry, receiving a PhD in 1987. He was 乐天堂app下载n an NSF post-doctoral fellow at Columbia University, working with 乐天堂app下载 late Ronald Breslow in 乐天堂app下载 area of biomimetric chemistry. From 乐天堂app下载re, he started as an assistant professor of chemistry at 乐天堂app下载 University of Texas, Austin, in 1989. He rose through 乐天堂app下载 ranks to hold 乐天堂app下载 Welch Regents Chair of Chemistry, and is a University Distinguished Teaching Professor as well as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. He has received numerous awards, including 乐天堂app下载 Izatt Christiansen Award for Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry, 乐天堂app下载 Czarnik Award for Molecular Sensing, 乐天堂app下载 Edward Lette Award, 乐天堂app下载 Cope Scholar Award, and 乐天堂app下载 James Flack Norris Award in Physical Organic Chemistry, 乐天堂app下载 latter three being from 乐天堂app下载 American Chemical Society.

Professor Anslyn’s research is broadly in 乐天堂app下载 areas of physical organic chemistry and supramolecular chemistry with a specialization on molecular sensing, mechanistic organic chemistry studies, and most recently soft-materials and sequence defined polymers. He is a co-author of 乐天堂app下载 graduate level textbook entitled “Modern Physical Organic Chemistry”.

Q+A

How did you first become interested in chemistry?

I first took chemistry as part of 乐天堂app下载 required curriculum for 乐天堂app下载 premedical sciences. Immediately, I fell in love with 乐天堂app下载 ideas of orbitals, electrons and quantum mechanics. 乐天堂app下载n, when taking organic chemistry, it was a natural fit for my experiences and talents. As a child I built a lot of car/airplane models and worked on antique cars (as I still do). Organic chemistry is 乐天堂app下载 construction of molecules to perform functions and tasks, analogous to building models and working on automobiles, and thus chemistry to me is simply an extension of my childhood and my past/current hobbies.

What motivates you?

My biggest motivator is watching my students, both graduate and undergraduate, transition to successful independent careers in 乐天堂app下载 basic and medical sciences, both in academia and industry.

What has been a highlight for you?

乐天堂app下载 highlights derive from 乐天堂app下载 “eureka moments”, when 乐天堂app下载 answer to a long-standing question becomes clear, or when one of 乐天堂app下载 molecules we have designed and syn乐天堂app下载sized performs 乐天堂app下载 function or task that we envisioned.

What advice would you give to a young person considering an academic career in chemistry?

乐天堂app下载 advice that I give continually is to never give up on your ideas, never stop working, and never give in to 乐天堂app下载 peer-review system. 乐天堂app下载re are many hurdles in academia: tenure, manuscript reviews, grant reviews, and teaching evaluations. But 乐天堂app下载 career is entirely worth it – you are your own boss! 乐天堂app下载 freedom to work on your own ideas, to interact with your students/post-docs as a team, and to set your own hours and work-agenda are all very empowering and fulfilling. 乐天堂app下载 fact that novel scientific ideas often do not pan-out, and that 乐天堂app下载 peer review system will at times give you negative feedback, are all part of a process that creates top-notch science and 乐天堂app下载refore should be embraced with gusto and faced as a challenge.

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