Thomas Cech

Chemist

Birthday December 8, 1947

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Illinois

Age 76 years old

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About

A chemist and former president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute who found the potential origins of life in his work with RNA. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1988, one year after he was elected to the United States National Academy of Sciences.

Before Fame

He obtained his Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley in 1975.

Trivia

He and his research partner, Sidney Altman, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989 for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA.

Family Life

He married Carol Lynn Martinson in 1970.

Associated With

He and Ahmed Zewail are both Nobel Laureates in Chemistry.