FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Peter Pulay, Roger B. Bost Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Arkansas, was awarded the 2003 Southwest Regional Award at the 59^th Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Oklahoma City in October. The Southwest Regional Award recognizes the top chemist in the Southwest Region that includes Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Known by his fellow scientists as one of the top five researchers in the field of theoretical chemistry, Pulay solved one of the most urgent tasks in quantum chemistry and permanently changed the study of atoms and molecules. The corresponding paper published in 1979 in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) ranks 64 in the top 125 most cited publications in JACS. Another paper published in Molecular Physics has earned the status of "Citation Classic" for 3303 citations. His record includes more than 200 published papers and numerous invited presentations.

In 2003, he was selected to receive the Schrödinger Medal by of the World Association of Theoretical Chemists, which recognizes the outstanding computational chemist in the world. His other awards and honors include the Gold Medal of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Sciences, an Alexander Humboldt Senior Scientist Award and an Honorary Doctorate from Eötvös University in Budapest. Pulay joined the University in 1982.