doctoral_advisor work_institution birth_place nationality field birth_date residence prizes article_title name alma_mater
sidney altman illinois institute of technology michigan , united states american biotechnology , genetic engineering 22 november 1949 united states william , award -lrb- 1988 -rrb- william c. staszak award , oak 1968 park education foundation , oak park , il -lrb- 1996 -rrb- -rrb- person of the millennium , iit millennium project -lrb- james 1999 -rrb- honor award for university research by the american b. academy of environmental engineering and scientists -lrb- aaees , 2013 angell -rrb- scholar -lrb- university of j. michigan , 1969-71 -rrb- phi beta kappa -lrb- university of branstrom michigan , 1970 -rrb- bachelor of science degree with high freshman distinction and highest honors in cellular biology -lrb- university of prize michigan , 1971 -rrb- the phi sigma award in biology -lrb- -lrb- university of michigan , 1971 -rrb- national science foundation university graduate fellowship -lrb- 1971-74 -rrb- national science foundation energy-related postdoctoral of fellowship -lrb- 1977-78 -rrb- lewis college -lrb- iit -rrb- junior michigan faculty teaching excellence award -lrb- 1988 -rrb- iit teaching excellence benjamin c. stark
 benjamin c. stark yale university
benjamin c. stark

benjamin `` ben '' c. stark is an american biologist and a professor at the illinois institute of technology .
he grew up in a small city in mid-michigan in the 1950s-1960s .
after high school he majored in cellular biology at the university of michigan -lrb- b.s. 1971 -rrb- and later he received his master -lrb- m.sc .
1974 -rrb- and doctoral -lrb- ph.d. 1977 -rrb- degrees from yale university with sidney altman .
after two postdoctoral positions , he took a faculty position at illinois institute of technology , where he has worked since .
he has carried out research in the area of genetic engineering and rna biology .
he was one of the co-discoverers of rnase p , a catalytic rna , in the laboratory of sidney altman who shared the nobel prize in chemistry with thomas r. cech in 1989 for their work on the catalytic properties of rna .
other major accomplishment of stark includes the discovery of enhancement of productivity of recombinant organisms engineered to express the `` vitreoscilla '' hemoglobin -lrb- vhb -lrb- hemoglobin -rrb- -rrb- , the first bacterial hemoglobin .
he has over 80 peer-reviewed publications .
stark 's research has been recognized by many awards , including honor award for university research by the american academy of environmental engineers and scientists -lrb- 2013 -rrb- , person of the millennium -lrb- iit millennium project , 1999 -rrb- , and the teaching excellence award -lrb- lewis college , iit , 1988 -rrb- .
