Drs. Xin Zhang and Shu-ou Shan are presented with the prestigious award during the 243rd ACS national meeting.
Center Valley, PA (USA) – May 8, 2012 – Avantor™ Performance Materials congratulates Dr. Xin Zhang of The Scripps Research Institute and his preceptor Dr. Shu-ou Shan of the California Institute of Technology, winners of the 2012 Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry.
The award, sponsored by Avantor and given by the American Chemical Society (ACS), recognizes an outstanding graduate or post-graduate student and his or her preceptor in the field of chemistry.
The 2012 student recipient Xin Zhang (second from left) and his preceptor Shu-ou Shan (second from right) receive their awards from Avantor representative Nandu V. Deorkar (right) and ACS President Bassam Z. Shakhashiri (left). (Photo courtesy of the ACS)
The 2012 student recipient Xin Zhang (second from left) and his preceptor Shu-ou Shan (second from right) receive their awards from Avantor representative Nandu V. Deorkar (right) and ACS President Bassam Z. Shakhashiri (left). (Photo courtesy of the ACS)
Nandu Deorkar, Vice President of Pharmaceutical and Central R&D with Avantor presented the awards in San Diego, CA on March 27, 2012 during the annual ceremony at the 243rd ACS national meeting.
Avantor manufactures and markets high-performance specialty chemistries and materials around the world, providing products widely used in biotechnology and pharmaceutical production; medical diagnostics; electronics manufacturing and in research, academic and quality control laboratories.
The company established the Nobel Laureate Signature Award in 1978 to support and reward future generations of laboratory scientists and chemists who conduct groundbreaking research in chemistry.
Recognizing the importance of education, preceptorships and mentoring, the award was expanded in 1980 so that the preceptor(s) of students applying for the award would be eligible as well.
Drs. Zhang and Shan were nominated for the award because of their pioneering studies in enzymology. Their research culminated in a significant contribution establishing how the conformational changes in a signal recognition particle (SRP) system provide a series of checkpoints that govern the overall fidelity of protein localization by the SRP. This work overturned previous scientific consensus.
“Avantor is proud to be a long-time sponsor of the prestigious Nobel Laureate Signature Award and is pleased to see it bestowed upon such pioneers in the field,” said Deorkar. “As a company on the forefront of innovation, Avantor is committed to supporting research teams like this that are transforming the field of chemistry.”
Dr. Xin Zhang, who is currently conducting postdoctoral research at The Scripps Research Institute in California, recently attained his Doctorate in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. He earned his Master of Science from Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics with the Chinese Academy of Science in 2004. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China.
Dr. Shu-ou Shan is the Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. She earned her Doctorate in Biochemistry from Stanford University in 2000 and her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Maryland in 1994.
Designation of the award as the Nobel Laureate Signature Award is made with the acquiescence of the Nobel Foundation. Student award honorees receive $3,000 and a plaque inscribed with the signatures of past Nobel Laureates. The student's preceptor(s) receive $3,000 and a plaque for permanent display in their institution's chemistry department.
For complete details or to nominate a student for the Nobel Laureate Signature Award, visit the ACS website for Signature Award nominations.
Visit www.avantormaterials.com or www.twitter.com/avantor_news for more information.
About Avantor™ Performance Materials
Based in Center Valley, PA (USA), Avantor Performance Materials manufactures and markets high-performance chemistries and materials around the world under several respected brand names, including the J.T.Baker®, Macron Fine Chemicals™, Rankem™, BeneSphera™, and POCH™ brands.
Avantor products are used in a wide range of industries. Our biomedical and life science solutions are used in academic, industry and quality control laboratories for research, pharmaceutical production and medical lab testing, while our electronics solutions are used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and flat panel displays. For additional information please visit www.avantormaterials.com or follow www.twitter.com/avantor_news.
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