2012 Monie A. Ferst Award
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Oregon State University
Kensal E. van Holde earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1949 anand his Ph.D. in 1952, both at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. He spent three years as a polymer chemist at E.I. duPont de Nemours, then returned to Wisconsin as a postdoctoral associate in 1955. He started his academic career initially as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee, and relocated in 1957 to the University of Illinois, where he rose through the ranks from Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry to Professor by 1964. Dr. van Holde moved to Oregon State University in 1967, where he served as Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics until 1993, when he retired as a Distinguished Professor Emeritus, the title he holds today.
Dr. van Holde is recognized as an excellent teacher in the classroom and mentor in the laboratory, as well as an outstanding scientist. He has taught in the Physiology Course at the Marine Biological Laboratory from 1962 to 1967 and directed the course from 1977 to 1980, and was recognized for excellence in teaching by the College of Science at OSU. He has written and contributed to several books, including textbooks in biochemistry and in physical biochemistry that have been widely adopted by colleges and universities world-wide.
Ken van Holde has made major contributions to science primarily in the areas of chromatin structure and function and in oxygen carrying proteins such as hemocyanin. He has served on the editorial boards of many journals, including as an Associate Editor of The Journal of Biological Chemistry. He has been recognized through fellowships from the National ScienceFoundation, Guggenheim Foundation. EMBO, and the CNRS (France). From 1977 to 1993, Dr. van Holde held the title of American Cancer Society Research Professor, and currently is a member of National Academy of Sciences as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.