Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award

Elderly man holding leafy plant branch outdoors

Norman R. Farnsworth

After gaining his B.S. and M.S. (Massachusetts College of Pharmacy), Norm earned his Ph.D. at the Univ. Pittsburgh, and while still a grad student, served as the first ASP Vice President. He joined Univ. Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 1970, and has served in numerous capacities, currently being Distinguished Professor and Director of the UIC/NIH Center for Botanical Dietary Supplements Research. His research has been well funded by NIH (top 3% of all grant awardees), NSF, WHO, USDA, industry and private foundations, leading to over 500 scientific publications and reviews. Among his many honors are Honorary Doctorates from the Univ. Paris (Rene Descartes), Upsalla University and MA College of Pharmacy. He was one of the founding fathers of the ASP, and, as its second president, he contributed to the implementation of the new constitution and recruitment of members. Over the years, Norm has encouraged innumerable UIC students and postdocs to present at ASP meetings, and many of them have become longtime active members. His favorite meeting was in Pittsburgh (1964) where every scientist who had a significant role in the development of anticancer agents from Catharanthus roseus attended a very spirited meeting; also noted was Norm’s introduction of “vincatini” (Smirnoff vodka, chlorophyll, and other proprietary ingredients), greatly enjoyed by all attendees. He notes “It has been a privilege and honor to have seen the development of ASP over the last 50 years; I have missed probably only three or four meetings of the Society. My research skills, if any, have been greatly enhanced with contacts and information provided by and through the ASP and its annual meetings. I hope to be around for a few more.” (NRF)

Our ASP family will never be the same without Norman’s presence, words of wisdom, sense of humor, and unique personality. He was a man with a big and generous heart. His passing is a tremendous loss for his friends, colleagues, and students in the field of pharmacognosy. This is a very sad moment for the ASP and its members.

- Dr Barbara Timmermann

His love, devotion,
dedication and advocacy for the Society have always been second to none. Norman is the most unforgettable cigar chomping character I knew. He was the quintessential renaissance man. He was fiercely honest, transparent, ethical, and loyal to his friends, colleagues and collaborators. He was mentor and friend to all who wanted to interact with him.

Dr. Harry S. Fong

I knew Norman for 50 years and we felt a special kinship because of our ties to both Lynn, Massachusetts and our alma mater, the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy. He was a member of my doctoral committee and also trained me in the then new technologies. He was a fierce protector of the word pharmacognosy, because several in the society wanted to change its name to more “modern” terminology, resulting in his lament to me: ‘After I am gone, that will be the end of the name pharmacognosy. The younger generation will eliminate pharmacognosy
not only from the name of the society but everything else. They have no appreciation of its origins or meaning.’

Dr. Georgia Perdue

“I felt that under his umbrella I was always protected. He listened to my problems as if they were his own and tried solve
them.

Dr. Nam Cheol Kim