Title:Tribute to a Living Legend
Volume: 9
Issue: 3
Author(s): Alain Krief
Affiliation:
Abstract: The Editorial Board wishes to dedicate this issue of “Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry” to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Prof.
Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS, on his 70th birthday. The Editorial Board acknowledges the tremendous achievements of Prof. Rahman in the
fields of Organic Chemistry in general and on bioactive natural products in particular.
Prof. Rahman’s honors include: the first scientist from the Muslim world to have won the prestigious
UNESCO Science Prize (1999) in the 35 year old history of the Prize; elected as Fellow of Royal
Society (London) in July 2006; conferred honorary doctorate degrees from many prestigious
universities, including the University of Cambridge.
On a national level his services are acknowledged in the form of four prestigious civil awards,
including these highest national awards: Nishan-e-Imtiaz (2002), Hilal-e-Imtiaz (1998), Sitara-e-
Imtiaz (1991) and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (1983).
At an academic level, Prof. Rahman has 856 publications in several fields of organic chemistry
including 658 research publications, 21 patents, 114 books and 65 chapters in books published largely
by major U.S. and European presses. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of 12 scientific journals in
fields ranging from Medicinal Chemistry to Pharmaceutical Drug Design.
Seventy six students have completed their Ph.D. degrees under his supervision. He chairs the Network of Academies of Sciences of
Islamic Countries (NASIC) and is the Vice-President (Central & South Asia) of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
(TWAS) Council, and Foreign Fellow of Korean Academy of Sciences. Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman was the President of the Pakistan
Academy of Sciences (2003-2006) and was again elected as the President of the Academy from 1st of January 2011. In particular, Prof.
Rahman has made outstanding contribution to Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry.
The contributions of Prof. Rahman to the uplifting of science in Pakistan in his capacity as the Federal Minister for Science &
Technology and later as Chairman Higher Education Commission were acknowledged by a high level award of the government of
Austria and TWAS prize for institution building as well as by four articles/ editorials in Nature.
The Editorial board wishes health and prosperity to Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman in the years to come.
