| Sir John Cornforth | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 September 1917 Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | Australia |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | University of Sussex |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney University of Oxford |
| Known for | Stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions |
| Notable awards | Corday-Morgan medal (1949) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1975) Royal Medal (1976) Copley Medal (1982) |
Sir John Warcup 'Kappa' Cornforth, AC, CBE, FRS (born 7 September 1917), is an Australian scientist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.
He became completely deaf by the age of 20 due to the progressive disease otosclerosis.[1]
Contents |
Cornforth was born in Sydney, and educated at Sydney Boys High School and the University of Sydney (from 16 years of age) where he met his wife Rita Harradence.
He studied organic chemistry in the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney and graduated with first-class honours and the University medal in 1937.[2] He won a scholarship to study at Oxford University, and moved there with Rita.
His mother, Hilda Eipper (1887–1969), was the granddaughter of Christopher Eipper.
Cornforth had a profound influence on the work on penicillin during the war. He helped to write The Chemistry of Penicillin (Princeton University Press, 1949), He received his Nobel Prize with Vladimir Prelog in 1975, the year at which he moved to Sussex University as a Royal Society Research Professor. He was knighted in 1977. He was awarded the Corday-Morgan medal in 1953, Royal Medal in 1976 and the Copley Medal in 1982.
He is a member of the Royal Society and is still very active in chemistry research at the University of Sussex. He was named the Australian of the Year in 1975[3], jointly with Major General Alan Stretton.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Bernard Heinze |
Australian of the Year Award 1975 Served alongside: Major General Alan Stretton |
Succeeded by Sir Edward 'Weary' Dunlop |
|
||||||||