In 1997, Paul D. Boyer of the University of California at Los Angeles was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with John E. Walker for their elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP).

All life requires energy. In both plants and animals, energy is stored and transported by a special molecule, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Photosynthesis and respiration generate a flow of hydrogen ions, which are used to build up ATP molecules with the help of ATP synthase, an enzyme that facilitates the process without being incorporated in the final product.

In 1974 Paul Boyer presented a theory explaining how ATP synthase works. The theory was substantiated in 1994 when John Walker used X-ray crystallography to determine the structure of ATP synthase.