RIYADH, 5 January — The Rabat-based Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) has awarded its 2001 prize in chemistry to Professor Atta-ur-Rahman, Pakistani minister for science and technology and coordinator general for the OIC standing committee on science and technology (COMSTECH).
The prize was presented to him at a special ceremony during the meeting of the ISESCO Executive Council in Sharjah, the UAE. Professor Atta-ur-Rahman, renowned for his contribution to the study of isotopes, was also a recipient of the UNESCO award for his services to science last year and has been instrumental in initiating a number of technological and scientific projects in the Muslim World.
He was selected for the ISESCO prize "in recognition of the research work he has undertaken in the field of medicinal chemistry, which led to the discovery of a large number of biological substances with pronounced activities against diabetes, cardiovascular disease, leishmaniasis and epilepsy," the citation mentioned.
