 | Sofia Simmonds and Joseph S. Fruton, pictured outside the School of Medicine in 1958. |
Yale professors emeriti Joseph S. Fruton and his wife, Sofia Simmonds -- who have devoted their lives to teaching, writing and research in biochemistry -- have further shown their dedication to that field by endowing the "Joseph S. and Sofia S. Fruton Teaching and Research Fund" for the History of Science.
They have also made provisions in their wills to further enlarge the endowment in the hope that it will eventually grow into a professorship.
"This fund was established to promote teaching and research in the history of the basic, natural sciences of physics, chemistry, and/or biology from a scientific rather than a sociologic perspective," says Fruton, the Eugene Higgins Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and a senior research scholar in the Section of History of Science, History of Medicine.
"It is inspiring to know that Professors Fruton and Simmonds have decided to financially support the sciences at Yale in addition to having enthusiastically devoted their careers to research and teaching here," says Provost Andrew D. Hamilton. "They have imparted their immense body of knowledge to generations of Yale students, and we are as grateful for that as we are for the fund they have established."
Fruton began teaching at Yale in 1945. His initial series of lectures formed the basis for the book "General Biochemistry," which he wrote in collaboration with Simmonds. It was the first of several books he has written throughout his career. "Methods and Styles in the Development of Chemistry," was published in 2002.
From 1952 to 1967, Fruton chaired Yale's Department of Biochemistry, and was named one of Yale's first Eugene Higgins Professors. From 1959 to 1962, he served as director of the Division of Science. Over the years, his research has dealt principally with the chemical synthesis of peptides and the specificity, mechanism and equilibria in the action of proteases on well-defined substrates.
Among numerous distinctions, Fruton has received the Eli Lilly Prize in Biological Chemistry and the Dexter Award in the history of chemistry from the American Chemical Society. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1952, to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1953, and to the American Philosophical Society in 1967.
Simmonds, now retired from Yale, received her Ph.D. from Cornell in 1942 for her work on the metabolic process of transmethylation in the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner Vincent du Vigneaud. Her Yale career included serving as a full professor in the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, where she later was director of undergraduate studies. In 1969, she received the Garvan Award from the American Chemical Society for her work on bacterial metabolism. In 1988, she was appointed acting associate dean of Yale College.
T H I S
Yale professors endow teaching and
research fund in the history of science
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
Team creates blood test for 'silent killer'
University marks 100 years of 'Pomp and Circumstance'
Yale scientist featured in new stamp series
Twelve honored for strengthening town-gown ties
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPSTwo appointed to Sterling chairs
R. Howard Bloch: French and Medieval Studies
Ian Shapiro: Political science and YCIASRomano named Ruebhausen Professor
Waxman is appointed to Flaherty chair
Dr. State has been designated Harris Assistant Professor . . .
Krauss named to second term at Silliman
Researchers discover virus' potential to target and kill deadly brain tumor
Yale professors endow teaching and research fund in the history of science
Study shows, when it comes to fish genitalia, size has pros and cons
Two Yale scientists honored with election to the NAS
Six Yale affiliates elected fellows of scholarly society
Beijing conference explored Chinese constitutionalism
New scholarship will help nurture future activist ministers
Yale-IBM computer facility formally dedicated
REUNIONSAlumni will gather for talks, tours and other special events
Library exhibit celebrates the accomplishments of the Class of '55
Medical school reunions feature talks on cutting-edge research
Yale launches research on lung cancer . . .
Workshop will explore technology's power to capture . . .
Show features artist's colorful depictions of 'Northern Shores'
Glen Micalizio wins Beckman Young Investigator award . . .
IN MEMORIAMBenjamin Mordecai: Drama school teacher and Broadway producer
Memorial service to honor South African historian Leonard Thompson
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home