The American Physical Society Awards Its 2002 Prize in Biological Physics Research

Summary

The American Physical Society (APS) has awarded its 2002 prize in Biological Physics to Professor Carlos Bustamante. Dr. Bustamante heads the Advanced Microscopies Department in LBNL’s Physical Biosciences Division and is a Howard Hughes Investigator and Professor of Biochemistry at U.C. Berkeley. He received the prize for “his pioneering work in single molecule biophysics and the elucidation of the fundamental physics principles underlying the mechanical properties and forces involved in DNA replication and transcription.” His work is critical for understanding how biological machines made up of complex parts, in this case several protein molecules, assemble and control key cellular activities. The APS established the Biological Physics Prize in 1982 to recognize and encourage outstanding achievement in biological physics research. Since then, it has been awarded only twelve times. Earlier this year, Dr. Bustamante was also identified as one of “America’s (18) Best in Science and Medicine” for 2001.