Robert H. Burris

Robert H. Burris (April 13, 1914 – May 11, 2010) was a professor in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.^[1] He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1961.^[2] Research in Burris's lab focused on enzyme reaction mechanisms,^[1] and he made significant contributions to our knowledge of nitrogen fixation.^[2][3]

Born in Brookings, South Dakota,^[4] Burris earned his B.S. degree in chemistry at South Dakota State University in 1936 and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1940.^[1]

He did postdoctoral research with Harold Urey at Columbia University, and later moved back to Madison, eventually becoming a professor in the biochemistry department. He was chairman of the department from 1958 to 1970.^[1] He retired from active research in 1984, having trained more than 70 doctoral research students.^[5]

He died in 2010 aged 96.^[5][6]

• 1961 – Elected to the National Academy of Sciences^[2]
• 1975 – Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences^[7]
• 1979 – Member of the American Philosophical Society^[8]
• 1979 – National Medal of Science^[9][10]
• 1984 – John J. Carty Award of the National Academy of Sciences in agricultural science^[11]
• 1985 – Wolf Prize in Agriculture^[2]
• 1989 – Kenneth A. Spencer Award for Meritorious Achievement in Agricultural and Food Chemistry^[12]
• Recognized as a Pioneer Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists.^[13]