Paul Boyer, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), shared 1997's Nobel Prize in chemistry with John E. Walker of England, for their discovery of how enzymes synthesize the compound adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an essential part of how cells store and release energy.

Paul D. Boyer was born July 31, 1918, in Provo, Utah, son of a physician, Daryl D. Boyer, and Grace (Guymon) Boyer. Paul graduated from Provo High School's college preparatory course in 1935, and went on to study chemistry at Brigham Young University (BYU); he did not follow in his father's footsteps, he says, "because I didn't want to have to worry about people." While a student at BYU, he met Lyda Whicker; they were married in 1939, the same year Paul earned his bachelor of science degree. They have three children.

While at BYU, Boyer noticed a flyer for a scholarship to...