Whistler Award

Of the 146 plenary lecturers so far, only three (Lemieux, Montreuil, and Sinay) gave three lectures. If the Whistler Award lecture is counted as a plenary lecture, then the names of Bock and Wong can be added to this list. There were 19 who delivered two plenary lectures each. One third (53) of the plenary lecturers came from the USA, followed by 22 from the UK and 15 from Canada. Altogether, 22 nations have provided plenary lecturers. 

Carbohydrates are used increasingly for the synthesis of antibiotics and their analogues. This subject was discussed by J. G. Moffat and S. Umezawa in London (1978) and by C.-H. Wong in Hamburg (2000). Enzymes came into more extensive use S. David discussed the use of immobilized enzymes in preparative carbohydrate chemistry (Ithaca 1986) and C.-H. Wong further developed this subject in Paris (1992). The mechanism of the action of enzymes was discussed by S. G. Withers in his Whistler Award lecture in Cairns (2002). 

The Roy L. Whistler International Carbohydrate Award was established in 1982 by an anonymous donation the donors stipulated that it be named after... 

Professor Whistler. The award consists of a plaque and a prize, and it was first awarded in Utrecht (1984). 

The Award is presented at the beginning of each Symposium after the opening ceremony. The awardee then delivers a lecture on his work, scheduled as the first lecture of each symposium with the president in the chair. It is regarded as a special lecture rather than a plenary one, and is delivered directly after the presentation of the award. Thus, the Whistler lecturer is different from the plenary lecturers being chosen on a different basis by a special body, and not by the organizing committee. 

At the Whistler meeting a new award was introduced the Carbohydrate Research Award for Creativity in Carbohydrate Chemistry, sponsored by Elsevier it was awarded to Peter H. Seeberger. 

Dr. Whistler said that he became attracted to chemistry in Jimior High School. As a high school senior, he won The Ohio State Garvan Award (a state-wide essay contest sponsored by the American Chemical Society) with an essay on The Relation of Chemistry to National Defense. He was most proud of that accomplishment, the first of many awards he was to receive. 

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