Ivano Bertini

Ivano Bertini, 71, a professor of chemistry and director of the Magnetic Resonance Center (CERM) at the University of Florence, in Italy, died of lung cancer on July 7.

Born in Pisa, Italy, Bertini earned a doctorate in chemistry at the University of Florence in 1964.

He then joined the university’s faculty, becoming a full professor of chemistry in 1975. Conducting research in physical inorganic chemistry, Bertini studied the structure-function relationship of metalloproteins using biophysical methods. An expert in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, he was a pioneer in the use of bioinformatics tools to exploit genome data banks—work that led to the identification of pharmaceutical targets. Bertini founded CERM, one of the world’s most advanced facilities for the study of bioinorganic molecules, in 1999.

Bertini coauthored numerous books and published more than 650 articles in international journals. He also served on the editorial staff or advisory boards of almost two dozen journals.

He was a member of the Academy of Europe, the Lincean Academy, the Italian Chemical Society, and the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1976.

Bertini received numerous awards, including the Bijvoet Medal in 1998 and the Sapio NMR Prize in 1999. In 2006, he received three honors: the Eraldo Antonini Lifetime Achievement Award in Metalloproteins, the Basolo Medal, and the Cannizzaro Medal.

He is survived by his wife, Renata; daughter, Laura; and son, Lorenzo.