BEDFORD PARK — Bronx High School of Science has another honored alumnus in its ranks — Robert J. Lefkowitz, who graduated from the prestigious public school in 1959, is a winner of the 2012 Nobel Prize in chemistry, it was announced Wednesday.
Lefkowitz is the eighth graduate from the school to win a Nobel, according to Bronx Science staff, who say the thrill doesn't wear off.
"It's absolutely still as exciting," said Jean Donahue, the school's assistant principal of science. "We were discussing it with some of our students, who are currently doing research projects, and they were absolutely thrilled."
Lefkowitz, 69, a researcher at Duke University Medical Center, will share the prize with Brian K. Kobilka of Stanford University School of Medicine for their work in researching cell receptors.
Bronx Science now has more Nobel Prize-winning alumni than any other secondary school, the school said Wednesday. The school also counts six Pulitzer Prize winners among its graduates.
New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott released a statement Wednesday congratulating Bronx Science on its most recent achievement.
“I want to congratulate Robert Lefkowitz, the latest Nobel Prize winner, who is a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science," he said. "This is the eighth graduate from Bronx Science to win a Nobel Prize and reflects the top-notch education offered in our schools.”
Assistant principal Donahue credits the school's hardworking students and staff for its success.
"We have a very special student body who are well prepared [and] motivated, and we have very dedicated teachers," she said.
