Wong Named Cotton Medalist

Chi-Huey Wong, professor of chemistry at Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., and president of Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan, is the recipient of the F. A. Cotton Medal, sponsored by the ACS Texas A&M University Section and the Texas A&M department of chemistry. Wong was chosen for his many contributions to new chemical and enzymatic strategies and methods for the synthesis of biologically active compounds.

The Cotton Medal consists of a gold medal and a bronze replica and is named for the late F. Albert Cotton, W. T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Texas A&M. The award, given annually since 1995, recognizes excellence in chemical research.

Wong's research interests are in the areas of bioorganic and synthetic chemistry and biocatalysis, including development of new synthetic chemistry based on enzymatic and chemo-enzymatic reactions; carbohydrate-mediated biological recognition; drug discovery; and carbohydrate microarrays for high-throughput analysis and study of reaction mechanism.

Wong will receive the Cotton Medal at a symposium and dinner at Texas A&M on March 26, 2008.