Richard J. Roberts

The collection consists entirely of memorabilia dated 1984-2019. Material includes awards, certificates, and gifts presented to Richard J. Roberts for honorary awards, degrees, lectures, etc.

Richard J. Roberts is the Chief Scientific Officer at New England Biolabs, Ipswich, Massachusetts. He received a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1968 from Sheffield University and then moved as a postdoctoral fellow to Harvard. From 1972 to 1992, he worked at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, eventually becoming Assistant Director for Research under Dr. J.D. Watson. He began work on the newly discovered Type II restriction enzymes in 1972 and these enzymes have been a major research theme. Studies of transcription in Adenovirus-2 led to the discovery of split genes and mRNA splicing in 1977, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1993. Since winning the Nobel Prize, Dr. Roberts has been involved in organizing a number of Nobel initiatives to correct scientific misunderstandings and promote humanitarian causes. His most recent campaign has been on the issue of GMOs, where 155 Nobel Laureates have supported the use of GMO techniques to improve plant breeding practices that could greatly help the developing world.