A symposium "A Tribute to Bruce Merrifield: Celebrating His Scientific Life and Achievements" was held on November 13, 2006 at The Rockefeller University in New York. Scientists came from around the world to pay tribute to the man who revolutionized how peptides are synthesized. Dr. Paul Nurse, President, and David Rockefeller, Board of Trustees of The Rockefeller University, opened the symposium. A highlight of the morning session was the presentation of the American Chemical Society Award for Chemical Breakthroughs to The Rockefeller University commemorating Bruce Merrifield's widely cited 1963 paper introducing solid phase peptide Synthesis (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1963, 85, 2149-2154). This was followed by the presentation of tribute plaques from the American Peptide Society to The Rockefeller University and to Elizabeth Merrifield by APS President Jane Aldrich. Arthur Felix gave a brief biography of Bruce Merrifield, and the audience viewed a video of Dr. Merrifield talking about the development of solid phase synthesis and the challenges that he faced. The morning session concluded with personal reminiscences by Dr. Merrifield's former associates Drs. John Stewart (University of Colorado), Maurice Manning (Medical College of Ohio), Arnold Marglin (Weymouth, Massachusetts), Robert Hodges (University of Colorado) and Cecille Unson (the Rockefeller University).

The afternoon session consisted of presentations by esteemed colleagues of Dr. Merrifield's from around the world that illustrated the impact of his discovery: Drs. Garland Marshall (Washington University) "Across the Bench from Bruce - the Early Years," Bernd Gutte (University of Zurich) "Solid Phase Synthesis for a Lifetime," George Barany (University of Minnesota) "Chemistry of Carbamoyl Disulfides," Richard DiMarchi (Indiana University) "Think Different - Ps 118:22-23," James Tam (Scripps Research Institute ¡V Florida) "To Protect or Not Protect: A Journey to Synthetic Proteins," and David Andreu (Pompeu Fabra University) "The Merrifield Contribution to the Field of Antibiotic Peptides." Attendees at the symposium also had the opportunity to view important items related to Dr. Merrifield's historic discovery including his original laboratory notebook describing his initial ideas about solid phase peptide synthesis and their implementation, an early instrument for automated solid phase peptide synthesis developed in his laboratory, and his Nobel Prize medal. The symposium was an excellent tribute to a great man who was not only an exceptional scientist, but who also left a legacy in the scientists he trained and the research his accomplishments inspired.