Sackler Prize Winners Announced

Massachusetts Institute of Technology chemistry professor Christopher C. Cummins and John F. Hartwig, Kenneth J. Rinehart Jr. Professor of Chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, are the winners of the 2007 Raymond & Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences, awarded by Tel Aviv University. The $50,000 prize, to be shared equally by the recipients, is intended to encourage dedication to science, originality, and excellence by awarding outstanding scientists.

Cummins is being recognized for his contributions to activation of small molecules, preparation of reactive complexes containing metal-atom multiple bonds, and development of novel organic synthetic methodology.

Hartwig is being cited for his contributions to catalysis based on late-transition-metal complexes, enabling widely applicable organic synthesis and deep mechanistic insight.