UJ recognises the work of Chemistry Nobel Prize winner: Prof Ben Feringa
gratitude for, and credit of, his 1999 discovery of molecular motors that can transport themselves through the bloodstream in order to deliver drugs to previously unreachable locations in the human body, with
a high degree of accuracy. More than 100 PhD students under his wing
Professor Feringa retains over 30 patents and has issued over 650 peer-reviewed research papers to date. He had been cited more than 30 000 times and has an h-index in excess of 90. Over the course of his career, he has guided over 100 PhD students. His research has been recognised by a number of awards, including the Koerber European Science Award (2003), the Spinoza Award (2004), the Prelog gold medal (2005), the Norrish Award of the ACS (2007), the Paracelsus medal (2008), the Chirality medal (2009), the RSC Organic Stereochemistry Award (2011), Humboldt Award (2012), the Grand Prix Scientifique Cino del Duca (French Academy 2012), the Marie Curie medal (2013) and the Nagoya Gold Medal (2013). “He has undoubtedly a stellar career”, concluded Prof Meyer. “We envision that, within in the Faculty, he will serve as a motivator to up-and-coming researchers, an advisor in research fields already under development, and an overall indicator of what hard work and dedicated science can achieve.”
Prof Ben Feringa and Prof Tshilidzi Marwala
undeniably unique and innovative and promises to revolutionise treatment options for various diseases”, said Professor Debra Meyer, the Executive Dean of Science at UJ. “In addition, his values of creativity and meaningful engagement with others are why so many postgraduate students reflect on their experience of his supervision as making science accessible and tangible. Unrivalled student experiences are something we, as an institution, advocate as our claim to fame.” The honorary doctorate further demonstrates the Faculty’s
Nobel Prize winner, Professor Ben Feringa, received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) on 2 April 2019 in appreciation of his international contributions to chemistry. Serving humanity through chemical innovation Born on 18 May 1951, the Dutch synthetic organic chemist has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the design and synthesis of molecular machines. “Professor Feringa’s molecular motors for drug delivery is
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