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College News
University Enterprise Laboratories Renovation Gets Underway
Renovation of the University
Enterprises Laboratories
(UEL) incubator began this
summer, after board members
completed fundraising.
Contributors include Xcel Energy
($2 million), 3M ($1 million), Boston
Scientific, Dorsey & Whitney, Ecolab,
Guidant, Medtronic, and Surmodics
($500,000 each), the City of St. Paul
($6.75 million), and the University of
Minnesota ($2 million).
UEL is a nonprofit, public-private partnership
created to advance Minnesota's
biotechnology industry by providing lab
space and support services for biotech
start-up companies. Offices move in this
fall; laboratories in July, 2005.
The facility is located within the St. Paul
Bioscience Zone and between the
University's Twin Cities campuses. It will
also house the University's Office of
Business Development and Carlson
Venture Enterprises.
 Edward Lewis CBS Says Goodbye to
Edward B. Lewis
The College of Biological Sciences lost a good
friend and distinguished alumnus when Nobel
Laureate Ed Lewis (B.S. - 39) died in July in
Pasadena, California, after a long battle with
cancer. He was 86.
Lewis won a flute scholarship to Bucknell
University, but after a year there, he gave up his
scholarship and transferred to the University of
Minnesota because Minnesota offered the
opportunity to pursue genetics research. He
received a B.S. in biostatistics from Minnesota.
With his 1950s experiments in fruit fly genetics,
Lewis became the first to explain how genes
control the development of organs during the early
growth of an embryo. His work had particular
usefulness in the study of children's cancers such
as brain tumors and leukemia, which develop
differently in children than in adults, says Bob Elde,
dean of the College of Biological Sciences.
Lewis was a professor at Caltech, a smaller school
with fewer hiring opportunities. So he helped
Minnesota recruit young star scientists for its labs,
among them Michael O'Connor (Genetics, Cell
Biology, and Development) who is a Howard
Hughes Medical Institute professor and holder of
the Ordway Chair in Genetics. Lewis was a generous
contributor to the college, and received an honorary doctor of science degree
from the University in 1993, two years before he received the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Known for
his sense of humor, Lewis often dressed as a
mutant fruit fly on Halloween.
"In science, given how competitive it has become,
he stood out as a generous person," said Jeff
Simon, associate professor in the Department of
Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development.
People
Kathy Ball, education specialist, has retired after
more than 30 years with the College of Biological
Sciences. Ball was instrumental in the development
of courses including General Biology laboratory,
General Botany lecture, and various seminars. She
contributed to a summer workshop on botany for
elementary school teachers and she developed and
taught Kids' University courses in biology.
Robert Megard, professor of ecology, evolution,
and behavior, retired in December after making
numerous contributions to limnology. He joined
the University of Minnesota as a research fellow in
1962 and became one of the first EEB faculty members in 1967. He is recognized for his
research on Paleocladoceraof Iran, kinetics of
oxygen generation in algae, and transmission of
light through water columns. In recent years, he
refined the understanding of fine-scale spatial
distribution in zooplankton in lakes.
Judd Sheridan, associate dean for research and
international programs, stepped down September
1, 2004. An associate dean since 1999, he will
continue his research as a faculty member in the
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and
Development and oversee international programs
part-time.
David Tilman
David Tilman, Regents
Professor and McKnight
Presidential Professor of
Ecology, is on a mission to make
major improvements at Cedar Creek
Natural History Area. He is leading a
campaign to raise $4.1 million through grants,
individual contributions, and funding from the state of Minnesota.
Cedar Creek Natural History Area is a 5,400-acre ecological research site near Isanti,
with natural habitats that represent the entire state. The funds will allow Cedar
Creek to restore 950 acres to savanna and prairie, create interpretive trails for yearround
access for walkers and cross country skiers, and construct a 7,000-squarefoot
Science and Interpretive Center that will demonstrate cost effective technologies
for energy efficiency, highlight how society can sustain the supply of vital services
provided by ecosystems, and provide space essential for both outreach and research.
The Big Back Yard Showcases CBS Science
The Big Back Yard opened in June at the Science Museum
of Minnesota with the help of the University of
Minnesota.The Big Back Yard serves as the museum's
outdoor exhibit hall. It includes a miniature golf
course, a hands-on demonstration of landscape
processes, and a prairie maze. The Museum worked
closely with CBS faculty to develop the prairie maze and
biomass from that portion of the exhibit will be used by an adjacent heat and
power plant.
The collaboration is part of a formal partnership between the University and
the Science Museum which provides the University with a venue to communicate
its research to the public and enhance the public's science literacy. The museum
contributed $3 million and the University contributed $1 million to the exhibit.
 Thomas S. Reid In Memoriam: Thomas S. Reid
Thomas S. Reid (Ph.D. '43) died in May at age 92.
During his 50-year career at 3M, he developed
patented products that include Scotchgard stain
repellent and the low-adhesion coating that makes
it possible to unwind and dispense Scotch tape.
Reid gave a substantial
gift to CBS to establish the Thomas Reid Graduate Fellowship in Biochemistry,
Molecular Biology, and Biophysics. He received
the University's Outstanding Achievement Award
in 1988.
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