John B. Fenn life and biography

Chemist John B. Fenn developed a new technique in mass spectrometry called electrospray ionization, a method used to obtain exact molecular weights, key to identifying the roles of proteins, carbohydrates, and other large, complex and non-volatile biomolecules. The primary application of his work, first published in 1988, has been in pharmaceutical research, allowing experimental compounds to be developed more quickly and efficiently. This has led to the development of protease inhibitors, a class of drugs that have proven valuable in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C. Fenn shared the 2002 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Koichi Tanaka and Kurt Wüthrich, for their work on biological macromolecules.

Fenn was born in New York City, and moved to Kentucky with his family during the Great Depression. Fenn did his undergraduate work at Berea College, and received his Ph. D. from Yale. He worked in industry at Monsanto and at private research labs before moving to academic posts including Yale and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Fenn's research into electrospray ionization found him at the center of a legal dispute with Yale University. He lost the lawsuit, after it was determined that he misled the university about the potential usefulness of the technology. Yale was awarded $500,000 in legal fees and $545,000 in damages. The decision pleased the university, but provoked mixed responses from some people affiliated with the institution, who were disappointed with the treatment of a Nobel Prize winner with such a long history at the school.

Awards:

Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2002 (with Koichi Tanaka and Kurt Wüthrich)
Experiment, Inc. Industrial Chemist (1943-45)
Sharples Chemical Industrial Chemist (1942-43)
Monsanto Industrial Chemist (1940-42)
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Royal Society of Chemistry Foreign Member

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