Richmond Sarpong named an ACS Fellow

July 30, 2019

Richmond Sarpong

Berkeley, CA

Richmond Sarpong, Professor of Chemistry at UC Berkeley, has been named a 2019 American Chemical Society (ACS) Fellow. He is among 70 scientists who have been recognized for their outstanding achievements in chemistry and important contributions to the ACS and their profession. The 2019 Fellows will be honored at a special ceremony during the ACS National Meeting.

Sarpong said of the award, “I am grateful and honored to be bestowed with this recognition. It recognizes the hard work and dedication of my coworkers, to whom I am deeply indebted.”

Sarpong is being recognized for his elegant and practical strategies for the total synthesis of structurally complex and biologically active natural products, and for the development of new C-C and C-H activation methods. He is also being acknowledged for his mentorship of under-represented minority chemists, and for communicating the value of chemistry to the general public on a global scale.

Sarpong's research interests include the total synthesis of natural products with a keen eye toward the development of new synthetic methods and strategies. In concert with this general program, his research group looks to nature to inspire their choice of synthetic targets (natural products) and strategies (e.g., bio-mimetic approaches) to natural product synthesis. The compounds currently being synthesized in the laboratory may ultimately become important as tools to study biological systems or provide a starting point for the development of new therapeutics.

About the ACS Fellows Program

The ACS Fellows Program is intended to recognize and honor members of the American Chemical Society for their outstanding achievements in and contributions to the science and the profession and for their equally exemplary service to the Society.

photo credit:  Niki Stefanelli