Professor Michael E. Jung

1986 Faculty Prize Recipient

Image of Michael Jung

Michael Jung is a native of New Orleans who received his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude from Rice University in 1969 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1973. He joined the UCLA Faculty in 1974, and was a recipient of the Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award only 4 years later. Professor Jung is a respected scientist with an international reputation who carries a heavy schedule of participation at prestigious international symposia and who performs tirelessly as an invited lecturer, often in German or French. His research, although very broad-based ranging from inorganic-organometallic chemistry, through basic organic chemistry, to biochemistry, reaches a special high level of importance in his work in total synthesis. The value of synthesis rests in making natural products and their structural analogues available in large enough quantities to allow for the evaluation of their potential as cancer chemotherapeutic or antiparasitic agents.

Professor Jung stands out in the respect and appreciation held for him by his students, both undergraduate and graduate. His courses run the gamut from the most basic introductory class to the most advanced. His enthusiasm for chemistry is contagious, and students are often swayed to switch majors to pursue the science. The result is scores of successful and highly motivated Ph.D. and future scientists all trained by Michael Jung.

Professor Jung was the first Gold Shield Faculty Prize recipient. He set a very high standard for those who would follow him and continues to participate in the activities that surround the awarding of the Prize.