Arieh Warshel

Arieh Warshel (Hebrew: ‫ ;אריה ורשל‬born November

20, 1940) is an Israeli-American biochemist and Arieh Warshel
biophysicist. He is a pioneer in computational studies
on functional properties of biological molecules,
Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and
Biochemistry, and holds the Dana and David Dornsife
Chair in Chemistry at the University of Southern
California. He received the 2013 Nobel Prize in
Chemistry, together with Michael Levitt and Martin
Karplus for "the development of multiscale models for
complex chemical systems".[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Biography
Warshel in 2009
Warshel was born to a Jewish family in 1940 in
kibbutz Sde Nahum, Mandatory Palestine. Warshel Born November 20, 1940
served in the Israeli Armored Corps. After serving the Kibbutz Sde Nahum, British
Israeli Army (final rank Captain), Warshel attended the Mandate of Palestine (now
Technion, Haifa, where he received his BSc degree in Israel)[1]
chemistry, summa cum laude, in 1966. Subsequently, Nationality Israeli, American[1]
he earned both MSc and PhD degrees in Chemical Alma mater Technion – Israel Institute of
Physics (in 1967 and 1969, respectively), with Shneior
Technology
Lifson at Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.[7][8]
Weizmann Institute of Science[1]
After his PhD, he did postdoctoral work at Harvard
University until 1972, and from 1972 to 1976 he Known for Computer simulation,
returned to the Weizmann Institute and worked for the Computational enzymology,
Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, electrostatics, enzyme catalysis
England. After being denied tenure by Weizmann Awards Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Institute in 1976,[9] he joined the faculty of the (2013)[1]
department of chemistry at USC. He was awarded the Scientific career
2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Fields Chemistry, biochemistry,
As a soldier, he fought in both the 1967 Six-Day War biophysics
and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, attaining the rank of Institutions Weizmann Institute of Science[1]
captain in the IDF.[10] University of Southern
California[1]
As part of Shenzhen's 13th Five-Year Plan funding
research in emerging technologies and opening "Nobel Doctoral Shneior Lifson
laureate research labs",[11] in April 2017 he opened the advisor
Warshel Institute for Computational Biology at the Website laetro.usc.edu (http://laetro.usc.
Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen edu)
campus.[12]

Honors
Warshel is known for his work on computational biochemistry
and biophysics, in particular for pioneering computer
simulations of the functions of biological systems, and for
developing what is known today as Computational
Enzymology.[13] He is a member of many scientific
organisations, most importantly:

Elected member of the United States National

Academy of Sciences (2009)[14] Warshel at press conference at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in
Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2008)[15]
Stockholm, December 2013
Fellow of the Biophysical Society (2000)[16]
Fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (2012)[17]
Honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2014)[18]
Honorary doctorate at Bar-Ilan University (2014)[19]
Honorary doctorate of the Faculty of Science and Technology at Uppsala University
(2015)[20]

Awards
Annual Award of the International Society of Quantum Biology and Pharmacology (1993)[21]
Tolman Medal (2003)[22]
President's award for computational biology from the ISQBP (2006)[23]
RSC Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry Award (2012)[13]
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2013) together with Martin Karplus and Michael Levitt for "the
development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems".[24]
Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement (2014)[25]
The Founders Award of the Biophysical Society (2014)[26]
The 2013 Israel Chemical Society Gold Medal (2014)[27]

Major research achievements

Arieh Warshel made major contributions in introducing computational methods for structure–function
correlation of biological molecules, pioneering and co-pioneering programs, methods and key concepts
for detailed computational studies of functional properties of biological molecules using Cartesian-based
force field programs,[28][29] the combined Quantum Chemistry/Molecular mechanics (i.e., QM/MM)
method for simulating enzymatic reactions,[30] the first molecular dynamics simulation of a biological
process,[31][32] microscopic electrostatic models for proteins,[33] free energy perturbation in proteins[34]
and other key advances. It was for the development of these methods that Warshel shared the 2013 Nobel
Prize in Chemistry.

Books
Arieh Warshel. From Kibbutz Fishponds to The Nobel Prize: Taking Molecular Functions into
Cyberspace (https://doi.org/10.1142/12412), World Scientific Publishing, 2021.

See also
List of Israeli Nobel laureates
List of Jewish Nobel laureates
Coarse-grained modeling
Empirical valence bond

References
1. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013" (https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/lau
reates/2013/press.html) (Press release). Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. October 9,
2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
2. Van Noorden, Richard (2013). "Modellers react to chemistry award: Nobel Prize proves that
theorists can measure up to experimenters" (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F502280a). Nature.
502 (7471): 280. Bibcode:2013Natur.502..280V (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013Nat
ur.502..280V). doi:10.1038/502280a (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F502280a). PMID 24132265
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24132265).
3. Van Noorden, R. (2013). "Computer modellers secure chemistry Nobels". Nature.
doi:10.1038/nature.2013.13903 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature.2013.13903).
S2CID 211729791 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:211729791).
4. Hodak, Hélène (2014). "The Nobel Prize in chemistry 2013 for the development of
multiscale models of complex chemical systems: A tribute to Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt
and Arieh Warshel" (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jmb.2013.10.037). Journal of Molecular
Biology. 426 (1): 1–3. doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2013.10.037 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.jmb.2013.
10.037). PMID 24184197 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24184197).
5. Fersht, A. R. (2013). "Profile of Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel, 2013
nobel laureates in chemistry" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856823).
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110 (49):
19656–7. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11019656F (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013PNAS..1
1019656F). doi:10.1073/pnas.1320569110 (https://doi.org/10.1073%2Fpnas.1320569110).
PMC 3856823 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3856823). PMID 24277833
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24277833).
6. Chang, Kenneth (October 9, 2013). "3 Researchers Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry" (https://w
ww.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/science/three-researchers-win-nobel-prize-in-chemistry.html).
The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
 7. Levitt, Michael (May 1, 2001). "The birth of computational structural biology" (http://www.nat
ure.com/doifinder/10.1038/87545). Nature Structural Biology. 8 (5): 392–393.
doi:10.1038/87545 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F87545). PMID 11323711 (https://pubmed.nc
bi.nlm.nih.gov/11323711). S2CID 6519868 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:65198
68).
8. "A Nobel victory" (https://news.usc.edu/57588/a-nobel-victory-for-arieh-warshel/). USC
News. November 21, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
9. Nobel laureate: We left because Warshel didn't get tenure in Israel (https://www.ynetnews.c
om/articles/0,7340,L-4438751,00.html) by Yitzhak Benhorin, October 9, 2013, YNET
10. 3 Jewish professors — two of them Israeli — share 2013 Nobel Prize in chemistry (https://w
ww.timesofisrael.com/israeli-prof-arieh-warshel-shares-2013-nobel-prize-in-chemistry) By
Gavriel Fiske, October 9, 2013, Times of Israel
11. "Shenzhen Has 7 Nobel Prize Winners' Labs, 3 More Planned" (http://www.thatsmags.com/c
hina/post/21997/shenzhen-has-7-nobel-prize-winners-labs-3-more-planned). That's Online.
Retrieved March 15, 2021.
12. "Warshel Institute for Computational Biology Established in CUHK (SZ)" (https://warshel.cuh
k.edu.cn/index.php/events/item/1-news-20170418). warshel.cuhk.edu.cn. Retrieved
March 15, 2021.
13. "Soft Matter and Biophysical Chemistry Award 2012 Winner" (http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAnd
Technology/Awards/SoftMatterBiophysicalChemistryAward/2012-Winner.asp). Rsc.org.
Retrieved October 9, 2013.
14. "Arieh Warshel Elected to the National Academy of Sciences > News > USC Dornsife" (htt
p://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/558/arieh-warshel-elected-to-the-national-academy-of-scie
nces/). Dornsife.usc.edu. May 5, 2009. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
15. "Arieh Warshel Elected to Royal Society of Chemistry > News > USC Dornsife" (http://dornsi
fe.usc.edu/news/stories/539/arieh-warshel-elected-to-royal-society-of-chemistry/).
Dornsife.usc.edu. August 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
16. "Fellow of the Biophysical Society Award" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131006105635/htt
p://www.biophysics.org/AwardsOpportunities/SocietyAwards/FellowoftheBiophysicalSociety
Award/tabid/501/Default.aspx). Biophysics.org. Archived from the original (http://www.biophy
sics.org/AwardsOpportunities/SocietyAwards/FellowoftheBiophysicalSocietyAward/tabid/50
1/Default.aspx) on October 6, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
17. "AAAS Members Elected as Fellows" (http://www.aaas.org/news/aaas-members-elected-fell
ows-2). AAAS.org. November 30, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
18. "Members" (http://www.rsc.org/Membership/AboutRscMembership/HonFRSC/). rsc.org.
Retrieved August 8, 2014.
19. "Honorary Doctorate Recipients, Bar-Ilan University" (https://web.archive.org/web/20190903
080104/https://www1.biu.ac.il/en-about_doctorate). www.biu.ac.il. Archived from the original
(http://www1.biu.ac.il/en-about_doctorate) on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3,
2019.
20. "Three new honorary doctors in Science and Technology – Uppsala University, Sweden" (htt
p://www.uu.se/en/media/news/article/?id=3690&typ=artikel&area=2&lang=en). www.uu.se.
Retrieved February 2, 2016.
21. "ISQBP People" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131016014710/http://isqbp.umaryland.edu/I
SQBP/People.htm). Isqbp.umaryland.edu. Archived from the original (http://isqbp.umarylan
d.edu/ISQBP/People.htm) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
22. "Tolman Award" (http://scalacs.org/?page_id=20). Scalacs. September 5, 1948. Retrieved
October 9, 2013.
23. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131016014855/http://isqbp.umaryland.edu/I
SQBP/newsletters/ISQBP_aug06.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://isqbp.umaryl
and.edu/ISQBP/newsletters/ISQBP_aug06.pdf) (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved
October 9, 2013.
24. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131010105733/http://www.nobelprize.org/no
bel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/press.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (https://ww
w.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/press.pdf) (PDF) on October 10,
2013. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
25. "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement" (https://achievement.or
g/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration). www.achievement.org. American
Academy of Achievement.
26. "2014 Society Awardees" (http://www.biophysics.org/2014SocietyAwardees/tabid/4790/Defa
ult.aspx). biophysics.org.
27. "Gold Medal for Levitt and Warshel" (http://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/5781171/
Gold_Medal_for_Levitt_and_Warshel.html). ChemViews. January 27, 2014.
28. Lifson S, Warshel A. (1968). "A Consistent Force Field for Calculation on Conformations,
Vibrational Spectra and Enthalpies of Cycloalkanes and n-Alkane Molecules". J. Phys.
Chem. 49 (11): 5116. doi:10.1063/1.1670007 (https://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.1670007).
S2CID 43907015 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:43907015).
29. Warshel A, Lifson S. (1970). "Consistent Force Field Calculations. II. Crystal Structure,
Sublimation Energies, Molecular and Lattice Vibrations, Molecular Conformations and
Enthalpies of Alkanes". J. Chem. Phys. 53 (2): 582. Bibcode:1970JChPh..53..582W (https://
ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1970JChPh..53..582W). doi:10.1063/1.1674031 (https://doi.org/1
0.1063%2F1.1674031).
30. Warshel A, Levitt M (1976). "Theoretical Studies of Enzymatic Reactions: Dielectric
Electrostatic and Steric Stabilization of the Carbonium Ion in the Reaction of Lysozyme". J.
Mol. Biol. 103 (2): 227–249. doi:10.1016/0022-2836(76)90311-9 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2
F0022-2836%2876%2990311-9). PMID 985660 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/985660).
31. Warshel A. (1976). "Bicycle-pedal Model for the First Step in the Vision Process". Nature.
260 (5553): 679–683. Bibcode:1976Natur.260..679W (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/197
6Natur.260..679W). doi:10.1038/260679a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F260679a0).
PMID 1264239 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1264239). S2CID 4161081 (https://api.sem
anticscholar.org/CorpusID:4161081).
32. Warshel A. (2002). "Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Biological Reactions". Acc. Chem.
Res. 35 (6): 385–395. doi:10.1021/ar010033z (https://doi.org/10.1021%2Far010033z).
PMID 12069623 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12069623).
33. Warshel A., Russel T. (1984). "Calculations of electrostatic interactions in biological systems
and in solutions". Q. Rev. Biophys. 17 (3): 283–421. doi:10.1017/s0033583500005333 (http
s://doi.org/10.1017%2Fs0033583500005333). PMID 6098916 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/6098916). S2CID 42166505 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:42166505).
34. Warshel A (1984). "Simulating the Energetics and Dynamics of Enzymatic Reactions".
Pontificiae Academiae Scientiarum Scripta Varia. 55: 60.

External links
Faculty profile, USC Dornsife (http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/faculty-and-staff/faculty.cfm?pid=10
03811)
Warshel research group at the University of Southern California (http://futura.usc.edu/)
Wikidata: Q4790366 (Scholia)
Arieh Warshel (https://www.nobelprize.org/laureate/891) on Nobelprize.org

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