Distinguished Biochemistry Professor, Peter Pulay, Named Mildred Cooper Chair in Bioinformatics Research

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Dean Donald Bobbitt of Fulbright College has appointed Distinguished Professor Peter Pulay to the Mildred Cooper Chair in Bioinformatics Research, created through a $750,000 gift from John A. Cooper Jr. and Pat Cooper of Bella Vista.

The gift will be matched through the University of Arkansas Matching Gift Program to create a $1.5 million endowment.

UA Chancellor John A. White said: “John and Pat Coopers’ gift to honor John’s mother is another example of the Coopers’ loyalty, generosity, leadership and philanthropy to the University of Arkansas and the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. We are grateful for their continued support.”

Early in his career, Peter Pulay developed techniques for determining the shape and size of molecules that would permanently change the way scientists study matter. Today his approach is widely used by theoretical chemists around the world.

The gradient method he published in “Molecular Physics” in 1969 proved to be a pioneering advance in the effort to determine the geometry of large, biologically important molecules. For its 125th anniversary, “The Journal of the American Chemical Society” selected the 125 most influential papers it had published. A 1979 paper by Pulay and his colleagues was number 64 on the list.

Professor Pulay is currently using a supercomputer to create parallel software computer programs that will drastically cut down the time needed to predict the properties of molecules.

“For many years, Dr. Pulay has been considered one of the top 20 researchers in his field internationally. Few have received the honors he has, from the very highest award, the Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences, to the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award. He has also received a creativity award from the National Science Foundation, which recognizes only a handful of the most creative investigators each year. He is truly a pioneer in theoretical chemistry,” said Donald Bobbitt, dean of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

Pulay has paved the way for Nobel Prize winners, including John Pople. The Royal Swedish Academy credited Pulay’s earlier work with being crucial to the Nobel Prize Pople won in 1998.

Between 1900 and the late 1920s, quantum mechanics was developed, which in turn led to a clearer understanding of the sizes and shapes of molecules. Pulay explained that such knowledge led to the discovery of the structure of DNA, the molecular mechanism of inheritance, and ultimately, the entire field of molecular biology.

From 1980 to 1997, Pulay’s research was cited by other scientists 3,303 times, earning the title of a “Citation Classic” from the Institute of Scientific Information in recognition of its importance to the entire scientific community. In 2003, Pulay was awarded the Schroedinger Medal by the World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists, which recognizes outstanding computational chemists around the world.

The author of over 200 publications, Pulay said his research now is focused on creating more efficient computer systems for simulating chemical systems and predicting the properties of molecules. 

“The possibility exists,” Pulay said, “of using calculations to predict the properties of all matter.”

He works with Dr. Amy Apon, UA associate professor of computer science and engineering who serves as principal investigator of the National Science Foundation grant that funded the purchase of a high-speed parallel supercomputer.

“The same money now buys about a million times more computer power than it did 20 years ago. This new computer will probably be among the fastest 200 computers in the world and will provide a world-class scientific computing environment at the University of Arkansas,” Pulay said.

The endowed chair is named in honor of Mildred Borum Cooper, mother of John A. Cooper, Jr. and long-time businesswoman in Bella Vista, known for her volunteer work with the Methodist Church and the Girl Scouts of America. Cooper was the first secretary and board member of the Cherokee Village Development Company, the predecessor of Cooper Communities in Bella Vista.