[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 133 (Thursday, October 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S10353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE AWARDING OF THE 2002 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY TO PROFESSOR JOHN B. 
                                  FENN

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise today to express my 
heartfelt congratulations to a former long-time Connecticut resident 
and member of the Yale University faculty, Professor John B. Fenn, for 
being jointly awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the world's 
highest honor for scientific achievement.
  I cannot imagine another person for whom this prestigious award is 
more richly deserved. Professor Fenn has conducted pioneering research 
on powerful analytical methods for studying biological macromolecules 
such as proteins. His work has revolutionized the development of new 
medicines and has broken new ground in the early diagnosis of certain 
cancers. The possibility of analyzing proteins in detail has led to an 
increased understanding of the processes of life. Because of the 
advances resulting from Professor Fenn's work, researchers can now 
rapidly and simply identify the constituent proteins contained within a 
substance. They can also create three-dimensional pictures showing what 
protein molecules look like in solution in order to better understand 
their functions within a cell. In addition to assisting the diagnosis 
of breast and prostate cancer, applications of this groundbreaking area 
of research are also being reported in other areas; for example, 
foodstuff control, pharmaceutical development, environmental analysis, 
and the diagnosis of malaria.
  Mass spectrometry is a very important analytical method used in 
practically all chemistry laboratories the world over. This process 
lets scientists rapidly identify a substance and is used in areas such 
as testing for doping and illegal drugs. For much of the 20th century, 
the technique had been used to identify only small-or medium-sized 
molecules. In the latter half of the 1980s, Professor Fenn and his 
colleague Koichi Tanaka, with whom he is sharing the prize, developed 
methods that make it possible to analyze biological macromolecules as 
well. Professor Fenn has been honored for finding ways to extend the 
technique to large molecules by making the individual molecules 
separate and spread out as a cloud in a gas without losing their 
original structure. In the method that he published in 1988, 
electrospray ionisation--ESI--charged droplets of protein solution are 
produced which shrink as the water evaporates. Eventually, freely 
hovering protein ions remain, and their masses may then be determined 
by setting them in motion and measuring their time of flight over a 
known distance.
  Professor Fenn received a B.A. in chemistry from Berea College in 
1937 and a Ph.D. from Yale in 1940. After a dozen years in industry, he 
was appointed director of Project SQUID, a Navy program of basic and 
applied research in jet propulsion administered by Princeton 
University, where he later became professor of aerospace and mechanical 
sciences in 1959. He returned to Yale in 1967 as professor of applied 
science and chemistry, a post he held for 13 years. From 1980 until his 
retirement in 1987, he was a professor of chemical engineering. He 
became a research scientist at Yale after being named Emeritus in 1987. 
In 1994, he moved to Virginia Commonwealth University as a research 
professor. He has served as a visiting professor at Trento University 
in Italy, the University of Tokyo, the Indian Institute of Science at 
Bangalore, and the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing, and as a 
distinguished lecturer at several other institutions. Author of one 
book and over a hundred papers, he is sole or co-inventor on 19 
patents. Much of his research has centered on the properties and uses 
of supersonic free jets expanding into vacuum. Such jets can produce 
molecular beams with much higher intensities and energies than can the 
classical effusion ovens they have replaced. Their ability to cool 
molecules to ultra low temperatures, with or without condensation, has 
revolutionized molecular spectroscopy and made them versatile sources 
of clusters and van der Waals molecules. In mass spectrometry, 
Professor Fenn is best known for his work in the development and 
applications of electrospray ionization.
  I speak with utmost sincerity in expressing my gratitude to Professor 
Fenn for the lifetime of contributions or, more accurately, several 
lifetimes' worth of contributions that he has rendered in service to 
our Nation in his research on mass spectrometry. The work resulting 
from his drive and genius will no doubt improve our lives and our 
society, and it fills me with exceptional pride to see him recognized 
for his efforts. Outstanding scientists such as he undertake research 
to fully realize human and societal potential, and by having had 
someone as accomplished as Professor Fenn on its faculty, both 
Connecticut and Yale University have greatly benefited from his 
groundbreaking work. On behalf of your State and your country, 
Professor Fenn, please accept my deepest congratulations and 
thanks.

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