Professor Jiali Gao receives 2023 ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (1/30/2023) – Professor Jiali Gao has been awarded the 2023 ACS Award for Computers in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research. Sponsored by the ACS Division of Computers in Chemistry since 2014, the award supports the use of computers in the advancement of the chemical and biological sciences and recognizes significant individual achievement in this area. Prof. Gao was selected for the award "for pioneering development and application of advanced electronic structural calculation–based computer simulation methods to understand complex molecular and biomolecular processes."

About Prof. Gao’s contributions to the chemistry community, Regents Professor Donald Truhlar writes: “Professor Gao’s work is characterized by development of methodologies for problems of chemical and biological interest, while his primary interest is in the understanding of biological processes. He pioneered the development and applications of combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical methods for biomolecular simulations. This method is used in most simulations of enzyme kinetics, and his foresight in pioneering this activity cannot be praised too highly. He has also contributed leadership studies on computation of solvent effects on chemical reactions, vibrational and electronic spectroscopy, and molecular orbital theory. His studies use his rare combination of understanding of theory, computation, and real-world applications to integrate methods in quantum mechanics, chemical dynamics, and statistical mechanics for applications to challenging problems of fundamental importance.” 

Recipients of the 2023 American Chemical Society awards will be honored at the awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, in conjunction with the ACS Spring 2023 meeting in Indianapolis.