Background
Benkovic was born in Orange, New Jersey.
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Stephen James
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Education
Cornell University; Lehigh University.
Career
He is Evan Pugh Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry at Penn State University. His research has focused on mechanistic enzymology and the discovery of enzyme inhibitors. He was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1985.
Early life and education He earned his Bachelor of Surgery degree in chemistry and an Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature from Lehigh University in 1960.
He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in organic chemistry from Cornell University in 1963. Benkovic was a postdoc at University of California, Santa Barbara.
There he and his advisor Thomas C. Bruice developed bioorganic textbooks that focused on enzyme catalysis. He joined the chemistry department at Penn State University in 1965.
There, he uses the T4 deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase as a model system to explain the proficiency of enzymes.
He also uses the enzyme dihydrofolate reductase and the pathway for de novo purine biosynthesis to gain insights into enzymatic catalysis.
Achievements
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1984 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1985 - Elected to the National Academy of Sciences 1998 - Chemical Pioneer Award 2000 - Christian B. Anfinsen Award 2002 - Elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society 2005 - Nakanishi Prize 2009 - Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science 2010 - Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry 2010 - National Medal of Science 2011 - National Academy of Sciences, USA Award in Chemical Sciences.
Membership
National Academy of Sciences. American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Education
Awards
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Guggenheim Fellowship; NAS Award in Chemical Sciences; Benjamin Franklin Medal National Medal of Science; NAS Award in Chemical Sciences; Arts and Sciences; Benjamin Franklin Medal
The Royal Society of Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal was instituted in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership to the Royal Society of Arts.The Royal Society of Arts Benjamin Franklin Medal was instituted in 1956 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin's birth and the 200th anniversary of his membership to the Royal Society of Arts.