Professor D. John Faulkner, a leader in exploration and discovery of potential pharmaceuticals from the oceans at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, died Saturday, Nov. 23, 2002, at Thornton Hospital in La Jolla, from complications following recent heart surgery. He was 60 years old.

Faulkner, a professor of marine chemistry at Scripps, dedicated his scientific career to the discovery and isolation of chemicals from marine organisms, including chemicals used for defense in marine invertebrates, such as sponges and nudibranchs. He investigated the production of chemical compounds used by the organism and, with his graduate students, explored the possibility of these chemicals being used as pharmaceuticals. With Scripps colleague William Fenical, Faulkner has been considered a pioneer of the relatively new field of marine natural products chemistry. The field, which did not come into its own until the 1970s, has garnered significant attention as scientists find it progressively more difficult to find new drugs from terrestrial sources and are looking to the oceans as a viable alternative source.

Faulkner played a central role in developing marine natural product chemistry into a mature and thriving scientific discipline. Through his research contributions, scientists are learning more about organic molecules in the ocean and their effect on the adaptations of marine life. Faulkner forged new relationships between pure scientific research and applications, resulting in creative approaches in the development of new drugs. His contributions included the discovery of new anti-inflammatory agents, new entities for the treatment of cancer and new antibiotics.

#8220;John was dedicated to the purity of scientific thought. He possessed uncompromising intellectual integrity and the courage to speak his mind,” said Dr. Charles Kennel, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “He made numerous fundamental contributions to marine chemistry and became one of the world’s eminent marine natural products chemists.”

Born on June 10, 1942, in Bournemouth, England, Faulkner attended Imperial College, London University in England, where he received a B.Sc. in chemistry, with first class honors, in 1962, and a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1965. He joined Scripps Institution of Oceanography as an assistant professor in 1968 and spent the duration of his scientific career here.

Prior to joining Scripps, Faulkner was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and Stanford University. He was a visiting scholar at Cambridge University in 1975, the University of New South Wales in Australia in 1981, and the University of British Columbia in 1989.

He was a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the American Chemical Society and had published more than 300 scientific papers.

Faulkner is survived by his wife, Meryl, of La Jolla.

Memorial services are pending.