Paul Berg

Paul Berg (June 30, 1926 – February 15, 2023) was an American biochemist (a person who studies chemistry in living things).  He was given the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1980, with Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger. The award recognized their contributions to basic research on nucleic acids.  

Early life
Berg was born in New York City. He received his undergraduate education at Penn State University, where he majored in biochemistry.  He received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1952.  

Career
After 1959 Berg worked at Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.  There he taught biochemistry from 1959 until 2000. He served as director of the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine from 1985 until 2000.  He is now professor emeritus at Stanford University.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Berg was given with the National Medal of Science in 1983 and the National Library of Medicine Medal in 1986.

Berg was famous for his pioneering work involving recombinant DNA, the process of inserting DNA from another species into a molecule, leading to the development of modern genetic engineering.  After developing the technique, Berg used it for his studies of viral genomes.

Death
Berg died on February 15, 2023 at his home in Stanford, California at the age of 96.

 References 

Category:1926 births
Category:2023 deaths
Category:American biochemists
Category:American Nobel Prize winners
Category:Foreign Members of the Royal Society
Category:Jewish American academics
Category:Jewish American scientists
Category:Jewish Nobel Prize winners
Category:American molecular biologists
Category:Stanford University faculty
Category:Nobel Prize in Chemistry winners