Tenth ECA Max Perutz Prize to Professor Sine Larsen


The Tenth Max Perutz Prize of the European Crystallographic Association (ECA) is awarded to Professor Sine Larsen from the Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

The Max Perutz Prize is awarded in recognition of Sine Larsen’s multi-faceted contributions to crystallography, including crystal structure analyses of organic molecules and proteins, charge density studies, and the development of synchrotron radiation facilities. Sine Larsen has served crystallographic science and related disciplines in important leadership roles.

Sine Larsen’s achievements in crystallography encompass chemical crystallography, biological crystallography and charge density studies. Sine Larsen is also a leader of incredible range encompassing several major roles; in the IUCr as President, at the ESRF as Science Director and at MAX IV as Science Director. Sine Larsen is then an inspirational figure to crystallographers all over the World through these scientific achievements.

The vast range of crystal structure analyses by both X-ray and neutron diffraction,  encompassing organic molecules and proteins, emphasizes the vast range of Sine Larsen’s scientific achievements and perspectives and exemplifies the multi-faceted and interdisciplinary nature of modern crystallography.

With charge density studies combining X-ray and neutron diffraction, Sine Larsen has made fundamental contributions of crystallography to structural chemistry and provided fundamental structural data on short hydrogen bonds and on chemical structural change at multiple temperatures.

Over many years, Sine Larsen has pushed tremendously for the development of synchrotron facilities for structural science. These facilities find the widest possible applications by scientists from many disciplines, whose research would be slowed and impeded without her continued efforts.

Sine Larsen has served crystallography in many leadership roles. As Treasurer and President of IUCr, she had a major impact on making the International Year of Crystallography 2014 possible. Through this work, Sine Larsen became an inspirational figure to crystallographers all over the World.

Sine Larsen received the Prize at the Opening Ceremony of the 31st European Crystallographic Meeting in Oviedo (Spain) on 22 August 2018. 

 

 

Sine Larsen with ECA President Alessia Bacchi and Udo Heinemann (ECA Vice President and Perutz Prize Committee chair).