Duilio Arigoni
Encyclopedia
Duilio Arigoni is a Swiss
chemist
and Emeritus Professor at ETH Zurich
. He has worked on the biosynthetic pathways of many organic natural substances.
, Switzerland
, Arigoni completed his undergraduate studies in Chemistry
from ETH Zürich
in 1951. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry from ETH Zurich
in 1955. His doctoral thesis was “Ueber konfigurative Beziehungen Steroid- und Terpenverbindungen”.
. He was also a visiting professor at Harvard University
and Cambridge University. He has worked as a professor at ETH Zurich
for over fifty years.
along with Alan R. Battersby
of the University of Cambridge
"for their fundamental contributions to the elucidation of the mechanism of enzymic reactions and of the biosynthesis of natural products, in particular the pigments of life". He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1988.
Some other awards he has received are:
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and Emeritus Professor at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
. He has worked on the biosynthetic pathways of many organic natural substances.
Birth and education
Born in LuganoLugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Arigoni completed his undergraduate studies in Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
from ETH Zürich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
in 1951. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry from ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
in 1955. His doctoral thesis was “Ueber konfigurative Beziehungen Steroid- und Terpenverbindungen”.
Academic career
After completing his Ph.D., he became professor at ETH ZurichETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
. He was also a visiting professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and Cambridge University. He has worked as a professor at ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
for over fifty years.
Research
Arigoni is known for his research in bio-organic stereochemistry. His major contributions are in the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and in the biosynthesis of terpenes, alkaloids, and enzyme cofactors. He has explored the detailed stereochemical pathways by which enzymes convert their substrates into products. His strategy of penetrating into the structure of enzyme-substrate interactions by concentrating on the detailed stereochemical fate of isotopic substrate labels, led him to make basic contributions to the mechanism of enzymic reactions requiring coenzyme B12, one of the 'pigments of life'.Awards
Arigoni has received numerous awards. In 1989 he was awarded the Wolf Prize in ChemistryWolf Prize in Chemistry
The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded once a year by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts.-Laureates:...
along with Alan R. Battersby
Alan R. Battersby
Sir Alan Rushton Battersby FRS Sir Alan Rushton Battersby FRS Sir Alan Rushton Battersby FRS ((born 4 March 1925) is a British organic chemist known for his work on the genetic blueprint, structure, and synthetic pathway of Cyanocobalamin. This came in collaboration with a partner and also in...
of the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
"for their fundamental contributions to the elucidation of the mechanism of enzymic reactions and of the biosynthesis of natural products, in particular the pigments of life". He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1988.
Some other awards he has received are:
- Award and Silver Medal, ETH Zürich (1955)
- Werner-Award, Swiss Chemical Society (1960)
- Ruzicka-Award, ETH Zürich (1961)
- Piria-Medal, Italian Chemical Society (1962)
- Guenther-Award, American Chemical Society (1970)
- Cannizzaro-Award, Accademia dei Lincei, Roma (1971)
- Flintoff Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, UK (1981)
- Davy Medal, the Royal Society, London, UK (1983)
- Robert Robinson Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (1984)
- R. A. Welch-Award, Robert A. Welch Foundation, Houston, Texas, USA (1985)
- Arthur C. Cope Award, American Chemical Society, USA (1986)
- Paul Karrer Medal, University of Zürich (1989)
- Quilico-Medal, Italian Chemical Society (1992)
- Marcel Benoist Prize, Switzerland (1992)