UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Stephen Benkovic, Evan Pugh Professor and Holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Chemistry at Penn State, has been honored by Penn State with the title of Atherton Professor. The University created the Atherton Professorship to recognize the continuing high level of scholarly or creative activity Evan Pugh Professors may pursue after their retirement.
“Dr. Benkovic is one of the college's most prominent faculty members,” said Tracy Langkilde, Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science. “He has made extraordinary research contributions at the interface of chemistry and biology, and his innovations have made a tangible impact on society. He has supported generations of cutting-edge scientists through his training and mentorship, as well as through funded research awards and initiatives. I am delighted that he continues to be an actively engaged scholar in our college community."
The Evan Pugh Professorship is the highest distinction bestowed upon faculty by the University. Since the establishment of the designation in 1960, only 79 faculty members have been named as Evan Pugh Professors. The Atherton Professorship recognizes emeritus Evan Pugh Professors for their exceptional record of research and creative accomplishment, teaching and learning, and service over the course of their careers, and allows for the continuation of these activities to the benefit of the University community.
“Steve Benkovic has had a remarkably deep and broad impact on the scientific community, Penn State, and our chemistry department for a very long time,” said Phil Bevilacqua, head of the Department of Chemistry and distinguished professor of chemistry, and of biochemistry and molecular biology. “In addition to his world-class research program, Steve has demonstrated time and again a deep commitment to excellence in our University and department. He and his wife Patricia have been extraordinary supporters of research from the undergraduate level to the faculty level. I’m so pleased to see this well-deserved recognition for Steve.”
Benkovic is considered to be among the most prominent mechanistic enzymologists in the world, according to Bevilacqua. Benkovic uses state-of-the-art chemical-biological techniques that include developing and applying innovative kinetic methods, inventing novel biological protocols for investigating the chemical sequence and structural basis of enzyme activity, and discovering enzyme inhibitors with therapeutic potential. With these techniques, he has studied many different enzyme systems critical to human biology, contributing fundamental findings to the design of cancer drugs and antibiotics.
Benkovic currently serves on the scientific advisory boards of Boragen LLC, Nucorion Pharmaceuticals, Boundless Bio Inc., and on the external advisory board at Cleveland State University Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease. He is a member of the external advisory group for the Geisinger Medical Center and serves on advisory committees for the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.
Among his many honors, Benkovic was one of 10 eminent researchers named by then U.S. President Barack Obama to receive the 2009 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research. In 2011, the National Academy of Sciences honored him with its Award in Chemical Sciences in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to understanding catalysis and complex biological machines — specifically the purinosome and DNA polymerases — and for demonstrating the power of chemistry to solve biological problems.
Benkovic's honors also include the Ralph F. Hirschmann Award in Peptide Chemistry from the American Chemical Society, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the Royal Society Centenary Award, the Merck Award from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists, the Alfred Bader Award in Bioinorganic or Bioorganic Chemistry from the American Chemical Society, and the Pfizer Enzyme Award.
He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Inventors and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society and a foreign member of the Royal Society. He is also a member of the American Chemical Society, the Federation of American Biologists, Sigma Xi and the Chemical Society.
Benkovic earned bachelor’s degrees in English literature and in chemistry at Lehigh University in 1960 and a doctoral degree in organic chemistry with minors in physical chemistry and biochemistry at Cornell University in 1963. He was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of California at Santa Barbara from 1964 to 1965 and joined the Penn State faculty in 1965. The University honored Benkovic with the title of Evan Pugh Professor of Chemistry in 1977, Holder of the University Chair in Biological Sciences in 1984 and Holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Chemistry in 1986.
About the Atherton Professorship
The Atherton Professorship, under the sponsorship of the Office of the Provost and the administration of the Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, invites applications for membership from Penn State Evan Pugh Professors who are retiring from the University and who wish to continue a high level of engagement as an emeritus faculty member.
Atherton Professors typically engage in the pursuit of scholarly or creative activities, leadership, or outreach in one or more of the following ways:
- Obtaining external funding to support ongoing research;
- Current and future publications of research papers and/or books;
- Leadership in learned societies and/or scholarly journals;
- Solicited lectures, performances, or exhibits.
Selection as an Atherton Professor is for an initial term of three years with the possibility of renewal. Atherton Professors may negotiate to receive support from their units such as funding, office space, or administrative support but do not retain any funding or privileges associated with their Evan Pugh Professorship. Atherton Professors may petition the Graduate School to retain their graduate faculty status during the term of their appointment as an Atherton Professor.