Abstract
Robert Abeles, one of the most influential biochemists of the past 50 years, died on 18 June 2000, after a protracted illness. Bob helped to create the field of mechanistic enzymology, together with Westheimer and Jencks. He developed many of the techniques and discovered most of the general principles that drive this field today. Because of his work, we understand a great deal about how specific enzymes catalyze important chemical reactions, and how that information can be used to develop specific inhibitors for these reactions. He trained many of the important scientists in this field, both in industry and academia. His death leaves a void that extends beyond the boundaries of this field, especially today, in this era of structural and functional genomics.