Schoellkopf Award To John Richard

John P. Richard, a professor of chemistry at the State University of New York, Buffalo, is the winner of the 2009 Jacob F. Schoellkopf Award, given annually by the ACS Western New York Section for outstanding work and service in chemistry or chemical engineering. Richard was cited for his “outstanding research in the field of physical organic and bioorganic chemistry; specifically, the study of reaction mechanisms of biologically significant enzymatic and nonenzymatic reactions.”

In recent work, Richard provided insight into the role of flexible loops in enzymatic catalysis, helped define the mechanism of action of orotidine 5´-monophosphate decarboxylase, and contributed to the understanding of the mechanism for catalysis of carbon deprotonation of α-amino acids.