| 1 | Name: | Sir Andrew F. Huxley | |
| Institution: | Trinity College, University of Cambridge | ||
| Year Elected: | 1975 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 206. Physiology, Biophysics, and Pharmacology | ||
| Residency: | International | ||
| Living? : | Deceased | ||
| Birth Date: | 1917 | ||
| Death Date: | May 30, 2012 | ||
British physiologist and biophysicist Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley won the 1963 Nobel Prize for his work with Alan Lloyd Hodgkin on the basis of nerve action potentials, the electrical impulses that enable the activity of an organism to be coordinated by a central nervous system. The pair's findings led them to hypothesize the existence of ion channels, which was confirmed decades later. They were also among the earliest applicants of a technique of electrophysiology known as the voltage clamp. In addition, Sir Andrew contributed to sensory physiology and conducted important theoretical and experimental research on muscle contraction. Sir Andrew served as Jordell Professor and Head of the Department of Physiology at University College, London (1960-69); Royal Society Research Fellow (1969-83); President of the Royal Society (1980-85); and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. He was elected to the Royal Society of London in 1955, knighted in 1974 and appointed to the Order of Merit in 1983. He was elected an international member of the American Philosophical Society in 1975. He died on May 30, 2012, at the age of 94 in Cambridge, England. | |||