LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Little Rock native John Jumper was recently awarded the honor of receiving the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The prestigious award was presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to recognize John's role in creating AlphaFold2, an AI-based system that can predict protein structures.
John shared this award with co-inventor Demis Hassabis and Professor David Baker of the University of Washington “for computational protein design.”
John is a graduate of Pulaski Academy’s Class of 2003, where he was involved in the Science and Engineering Club, Chess Club, Model United Nations Program, and played on the soccer team.
His academic career continued at Vanderbilt University, then the University of Cambridge, where he earned an MPhil in theoretical condensed matter physics. He completed his PhD in Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Chicago.
“We are incredibly proud of John and his remarkable journey since his time at Pulaski Academy,” said Garry Sullivan, Head of School at Pulaski Academy. “His curiosity and commitment to excellence, which were evident during his upper school years, have led to transformative achievements on a global scale. We are honored to count him as one of our own.”
