On May 20, 2013, the Edward J. McNelis Thesis Prize in Chemistry was presented to Rachel Ness at the New York University Department of Chemistry Graduation Ceremony.
Edward J. McNelis was Professor of Chemistry at New York University from 1967-2003. An active scholar and devoted teacher, Professor McNelis made numerous contributions at many levels. While his research was focused in organic chemistry, he was an intellectual whose interests were broad. He was Department Chair in the
The Edward J. McNelis Thesis Prize in Chemistry was established with generous gifts from Professor McNelis’ sons, Joseph and John. While the memorial award was Joseph's brainchild, it was John who personally presented the award to Rachel in May (pictured below). Joseph is a gastroenterologist who relocated with his family to Fargo, North Dakota last year. John is the Chairman of Surgery at the North Bronx Healthcare Network and a member of the faculty at SUNY Stony Brook and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
The prize includes $1,000 and a commemorative award. The design on the award (pictured on the left) includes a typical product of a reaction known as “The McNelis Rearrangement,” coined by Professor Gerald F. Koser of The University of Akron, in his review article in the anniversary issue of Aldrichimica Acta, "1951-2001: Fifty Years of Chemists Helping Chemists." The McNelis Rearrangement was discovered with the assistance of Pakorn Bovonsombat, a graduate student in Professor McNelis' lab at the time. Pakorn is currently the Chair of the Science Division at Mahidol University in Thailand, and we thank him for his contribution toward honoring the memory of his beloved advisor.
Although Rachel did not have the pleasure of working with Professor McNelis, it is fitting that she has enjoyed the mentorship of his younger colleague, Professor Paramjit Arora. Her
