Duilio Arigoni (6 December 1928 – 10 June 2020) was a Swiss

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

and Emeritus Professor at

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

. He worked on the biosynthetic pathways of many organic natural substances.

Birth and education

Born in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, Switzerland, Arigoni completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry from the

ETH Zürich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

in 1951. He completed his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the ETH Zurich in 1955. His doctoral thesis was “Über konfigurative Beziehungen Steroid- und Terpenverbindungen”.

Academic career

After completing his PhD, he became a professor at the ETH Zurich. He was also a visiting professor at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He worked as a professor at ETH Zurich for over fifty years.

Research

Arigoni is known for his research in bio-organic stereochemistry. His major contributions are in the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions and in the biosynthesis of terpenes, alkaloids, and enzyme cofactors. He has explored the detailed stereochemical pathways by which enzymes convert their substrates into products.Winfried R. Pötsch, Annelore Fischer and Wolfgang Müller with contributions of Heinz Cassenbaum: ''Lexikon bedeutender Chemiker'', VEB Bibliographisches Institut Leipzig, 1988, p. 15, . His strategy of penetrating into the structure of enzyme-substrate interactions by concentrating on the detailed stereochemical fate of isotopic substrate labels, led him to make basic contributions to the mechanism of enzymic reactions requiring coenzyme B12, one of the 'pigments of life'.

Awards

Arigoni received numerous awards. In 1989, he was awarded the

Wolf Prize in Chemistry The Wolf Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Agriculture, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and Arts. Laure ...

along with

Alan R. Battersby Sir Alan Rushton Battersby (4 March 1925 – 10 February 2018) was an English organic chemist best known for his work to define the chemical intermediates in the biosynthetic pathway to vitamin B12 and the reaction mechanisms of the enzymes invo ...

of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

"for their fundamental contributions to the elucidation of the mechanism of enzymic reactions and of the biosynthesis of natural products, in particular the pigments of life".The Wolf Prize in Chemistry
He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

in 1988. Some other awards he has received are: * Award and Silver Medal, ETH Zürich (1955) * Werner-Award, Swiss Chemical Society (1960) * Ruzicka-Award, ETH Zürich (1961) * Piria-Medal, Italian Chemical Society (1962) *

Ernest Guenther Award The Ernest Guenther Award in the Chemistry of Natural Products is an American Chemical Society (ACS) award in the field of the chemistry of natural products. The purpose of the award is to recognize and encourage outstanding achievements in the ana ...

, American Chemical Society (1970) * Cannizzaro-Award, Accademia dei Lincei, Roma (1971) * Flintoff Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, UK (1981) *

Davy Medal The Davy Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry". Named after Humphry Davy, the medal is awarded with a monetary gift, initially of £1000 (currently £2000). H ...

, the Royal Society, London, UK (1983) * Robert Robinson Medal, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK (1984) *

Welch Award in Chemistry The Welch Award in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Robert A. Welch Foundation, based in Houston, Texas, to encourage and recognise basic chemical research for the benefit of mankind. The award, which has been given since 1972, is one of the ...

, Robert A. Welch Foundation, Houston, Texas, USA (1985) *

Arthur C. Cope Award The Arthur C. Cope Award is a prize awarded for achievement in the field of organic chemistry research. It is sponsored by the Arthur C. Cope Fund, and has been awarded annually since 1973 by the American Chemical Society. It consists of $25,000, ...

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

, USA (1986) *

Paul Karrer Gold Medal The Paul Karrer Gold Medal and Lecture is awarded annually or biennially by the University of Zurich to an outstanding researcher in the field of chemistry. It was established in 1959 by a group of leading companies, including CIBA AG, J.R. Gei ...

University of Zürich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 f ...

(1989) * Quilico-Medal, Italian Chemical Society (1992) * Marcel Benoist Prize, Switzerland (1992)

References

External links

*
Curriculum Vitae of Duilio Arigoni

The Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1989 (detail)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arigoni, Duilio 1928 births 2020 deaths ETH Zurich alumni Academic staff of ETH Zurich Harvard University staff Wolf Prize in Chemistry laureates Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Foreign Members of the Royal Society People from Lugano