Ignacio Tinoco Jr.
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Ignacio "Nacho" Tinoco Jr. (November 22, 1930 – November 15, 2016) was a Professor of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley from 1956 to 2016.[1][2][3]
Ignacio Tinoco Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 22, 1930 |
| Died | November 15, 2016 (aged 85) |
| Education | University of New Mexico, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Yale University |
| Known for | Pioneering work on RNA folding and the secondary structures of ribonucleic acid |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Workplaces | University of California, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |
| John D. Ferry | |
Other academic advisors | John G. Kirkwood |
Doctoral students | Carlos Bustamante, Charles Cantor |
Other notable students | Frances Arnold |
Ignacio Tinoco received a bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1951, and a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1954.[4] He was a postdoctoral fellow with John G. Kirkwood at Yale University from 1954 to 1956.[4] He joined the University of California, Berkeley as a faculty member in 1956, where he was professor in the graduate school and a faculty senior scientist, physical biosciences division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He was chairman of the chemistry department (1979–82).[5]
Tinoco, together with Carlos Bustamante (biophysicist) and Marcos F. Maestre, developed the theory of circular intensity differential scattering (CIDS),[6] showing that the angular differential scattering of left- and right-circularly polarized light can provide information about the geometry and handedness of helical structures.[7] In 1982, Tinoco and collaborators experimentally demonstrated angular CIDS from the helical sperm head of the octopus Eledone cirrhosa, observing preferential scattering of one circular polarization with a maximum differential signal of about 2% at a scattering angle of 35°.[8]
He is known for his pioneering work on RNA folding and the secondary structures of ribonucleic acid.[9][10][11] His graduate and postdoctoral students include Carlos Bustamante and Frances Arnold.[9]
His honors and awards include: Guggenheim Fellow, Medical Research Council Laboratory, Cambridge (1964); California Section Award, American Chemical Society (1965); D.Sc. University of New Mexico (1972); Member, National Academy of Sciences (1985); Elisabeth R. Cole Award (Founders Award), Biophysical Society (1996);[12] Berkeley Citation, University of California (1996); Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001); Emily M. Gray Award, Biophysical Society (2006); Fellow: American Physical Society, Biophysical Society.
He died on November 15, 2016, at the age of 85.[2]
The Biophysical Society gives the Ignacio Tinoco Award in his honor.[13]
