Gary W. Brudvig
Benjamin Silliman Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Director of Yale Energy Sciences Institute, Yale University, USA
Water-Splitting Chemistry of Photosystem II:The Inner Sanctum of Photosynthesis
Photosystem II (PSII) uses light energy to split water into protons, electrons and molecular oxygen. In this reaction, Nature has solved the difficult chemical problem of efficient four-electron oxidation of water to yield oxygen without significant amounts of reactive intermediate species such as superoxide, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals. With an aim to use Nature’s solution for the design of artificial catalysts that split water, it is important to understand the mechanism of the reaction. The water-splitting mechanism of PSII will be discussed in the light of biophysical studies, inorganic chemistry, and the recently 3.5 Å resolution X-ray crystal structure of a cyanobacterial PSII.Searle Scholar, 1983-86
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar, 1985-90
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, 1986-88
Elected Fellow of the AAAS, 1995
Outstanding Achievement Award, University of Minnesota, 2016
Elected Member, Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, 2019