George Gokel, director of the Center for Nanoscience and distinguished professor of science at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, is being honored as an outstanding scientist by the Academy of Science of St. Louis.
Gokel, a Chesterfield resident, will receive the James B. Eads Award during an awards dinner on April 24. The award recognizes his innovative work in the area of supramolecular chemistry.
The award’s namesake, James B. Eads, was one of the academy's founders. He was a self-taught engineer, who built the Eads Bridge over the Mississippi River.
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The award recognizes a distinguished individual for outstanding achievement in engineering or technology. Gokel, who’s been conducting research in the St. Louis area for 20 years, has admired past winners and is flattered to have joined their ranks.
“This recognition is special for me because it places me in a group of scientists and some friends whose work has been significant and influential far beyond the St. Louis scientific community,” he said.
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Gokel came to UMSL in 2006 after 13 years at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, where he was a professor of molecular biology and pharmacology. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Tulane University in New Orleans and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at UCLA. His research took him to some of the nation’s top universities.
He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, authored, co-authored or edited 10 books and is named as an inventor on more than 15 patents. He sits on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and was named to a scientific review committee at the National Institutes of Health through 2013.
The Academy of Science of St. Louis promotes the recognition of the impressive scientists of St. Louis. Each award winner represents both an extraordinary caliber of expertise and a dedication to fostering science literacy.