James P. Collman

(1932- ) born at Beatrice, lived in Lincoln. Chemist, researcher, educator, known for discovering how certain metal-bearing enzymes control essential biological functions (for example, during respiration, electrons extracted from food are used to transform oxygen from the air into water, creating energy to heat the body and operate the muscles and brains of every air-breathing organism) and for inventing artificial enzymes that imitate "the real thing"; has published over 330 scientific papers and three books, including Naturally Dangerous: Surprising Facts About Food, Health, and the Environment (University Science Books, 2001), a book intended for the general public; has lectured worldwide by invitation, and more than 40 of his students at Stanford University occupy teaching positions at colleges worldwide, with 12 more founding small companies; former postdoctoral student K. Barry Sharpless won the 2001 Nobel Prize in chemistry; elected to National Academy of Sciences in 1975. Consult Beatrice Daily Sun, December 7, 1966, p. 18 and Chemical and Engineering News, December 17, 2001, pp. 55-56 and Stanford Magazine, November/December 2001, p. 28 and Who's Who in America, Vol 1 (2003) 1008.

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