William R. Roush
Encyclopedia
William R. Roush is an American organic chemist
. He was born on February 20, 1952 in Chula Vista, California
. Roush studied chemistry at the University of California Los Angeles (B.S. 1974) and Harvard University
(Ph.D. 1977 under Robert Burns Woodward
). Following a year postdoctoral appointment at Harvard, he joined that faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. In 1987, Dr. Roush moved to Indiana University and was promoted to Professor in 1989 and Distinguished Professor in 1995. Two years later, he moved to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and served as the Warner Lambert/Parke Davis Professor of Chemistry. He served as chair of the University of Michigan's Department of Chemistry from 2002-2004. In 2004 Professor Roush relocated with his group to the Jupiter
, Florida
campus of the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) where he currently serves as Professor of Chemistry, Associate Dean of the TSRI graduate program and Executive Director of Medicinal Chemistry
.
Roush is active in the field of organic chemistry
with research interests including natural product synthesis, methods development and medicinal chemistry. He is known for his stereochemical studies and synthetic applications of the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction
and his work in the area of asymmetric and acyclic diastereoselective synthesis, specifically the use of tartrate ester modified allylboronates and other allylmetal compounds for the aldol-like construction of propionate-derived systems. He has also made important contributions the synthesis of deoxyglycosides and polyhydroxylated natural products, and to the design and synthesis of inhibitors of cysteine proteases targeting important human pathogens (e.g., Trypanosoma, Plasmodium and Entamoeba species).
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...
. He was born on February 20, 1952 in Chula Vista, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Roush studied chemistry at the University of California Los Angeles (B.S. 1974) and 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...
(Ph.D. 1977 under Robert Burns Woodward
Robert Burns Woodward
Robert Burns Woodward was an American organic chemist, considered by many to be the preeminent organic chemist of the twentieth century...
). Following a year postdoctoral appointment at Harvard, he joined that faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. In 1987, Dr. Roush moved to Indiana University and was promoted to Professor in 1989 and Distinguished Professor in 1995. Two years later, he moved to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and served as the Warner Lambert/Parke Davis Professor of Chemistry. He served as chair of the University of Michigan's Department of Chemistry from 2002-2004. In 2004 Professor Roush relocated with his group to the Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
campus of the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) where he currently serves as Professor of Chemistry, Associate Dean of the TSRI graduate program and Executive Director of Medicinal Chemistry
Medicinal chemistry
Medicinal chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry are disciplines at the intersection of chemistry, especially synthetic organic chemistry, and pharmacology and various other biological specialties, where it is involved with design, chemical synthesis and development for market of pharmaceutical...
.
Roush is active in the field of organic chemistry
Organic chemistry
Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...
with research interests including natural product synthesis, methods development and medicinal chemistry. He is known for his stereochemical studies and synthetic applications of the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction
Diels-Alder reaction
The Diels–Alder reaction is an organic chemical reaction between a conjugated diene and a substituted alkene, commonly termed the dienophile, to form a substituted cyclohexene system. The reaction can proceed even if some of the atoms in the newly formed ring are not carbon...
and his work in the area of asymmetric and acyclic diastereoselective synthesis, specifically the use of tartrate ester modified allylboronates and other allylmetal compounds for the aldol-like construction of propionate-derived systems. He has also made important contributions the synthesis of deoxyglycosides and polyhydroxylated natural products, and to the design and synthesis of inhibitors of cysteine proteases targeting important human pathogens (e.g., Trypanosoma, Plasmodium and Entamoeba species).
Awards
William Roush has received numerous awards and honors including:- Phi Beta Kappa, 1974
- Merck Faculty Development Award, 1981
- Eli Lilly Grantee, 1981–83
- Roger and Georges Firmenich Career Development Chair in Natural Products Chemistry (MIT), 1981–84
- Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 1982–86
- Alan R. Day Award of the Philadelphia Organic Chemist's Club, 1992
- Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award, American Chemical Society, 1994
- ACS Akron Section Award, 1996
- Merit Award, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 1998
- Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award, University of Michigan, 1998
- Paul G. Gassman Distinguished Service Award - ACS Division of Organic Chemistry, 2002
- ACS Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products, 2004
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2006
- Fellow, American Chemical Society, 2009