Norman L. Allinger received his B.S. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1951 and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1954. He was on the faculty at Wayne State University before joining the University of Georgia as a Research Professor in 1969. He is known for his pioneering efforts in the use of computational chemistry, especially molecular mechanics, to solve a variety of chemical problems. He is the author of the MM2 and MM3 molecular mechanics software packages.
Allinger's research in the Computational Center for Molecular Structure and Design focuses on understanding molecular structures and interactions, solving the problem of determining accurate three-dimensional structures, and the resulting energies using both quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical methods.
Allinger was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1991, and is a member of the American Chemical Society; he has received the Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists, Schrodinger Medal of the World Association of Theoretically Oriented Chemists, the Florida, Arthur C. Cope Scholarship, and James Flack Norris Awards from the American Chemical Society.
Information as of April 2002