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Frontiers spring 1999

From the dean The College of Biological Sciences is doing extremely well in several areas. We are attracting highly talented and motivated undergraduates. Our student numbers are increasing more rapidly than those of any other college at the University. We taught proportionally more freshman seminars last fall than any other college. We are the University's fourth largest fiscal operation in terms of research funding. The biological sciences reorganization is official. And national searches for two department heads are underway. In addition, I am pleased to report significant progress on the University's molecular and cellular biology initiative. A team of internal and external scientists has reviewed proposals for new faculty hires to support the initiative. Proposals from 11 departments in 6 colleges were received in December for 48 positions; up to 24 could be filled at the assistant professor level. Searches will be authorized in late April. Renovation of Snyder Hall and Gortner Lab began in February and will result in a "biotechnology mall" that offers research support facilities including the Mass Spectrometry Center, Imaging Center, and Biological Process Technology Institute. I, along with Medical School dean Al Michael, heads of the affected departments, and user groups, have been working with architects Perkins & Will on design of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Building. Construction will begin in the fall. We have proposed that a Plant and Microbial Genomics Center be built on the St. Paul campus. The University administration supports this proposal and has requested funding for planning and design. Pre-design began in February. The proposed building will help the initiative move forward with its focus: functional genomics. Functional genomics is a new research area that is predicted to revolutionize biology, medicine, and agriculture in the next century. It involves looking at the genome – the complete set of tens of thousands of genes – genescoen organism during its development and interactions with its environment to discern which genes do what. By studying the genes of simple organisms with simple genomes, scientists can extrapolate their findings to the same genes shared by other species. Possible applications include producing fruit that can be stored unrefrigerated for long periods; creating crops that are resistant to drought, insects, fungi, bacteria, and even herbicides; and preventing or correcting birth defects. While the new Molecular and Cellular Biology Building in Minneapolis will focus primarily on basic research with applications in human health and medicine, the proposed Center for Plant and Microbial Genomics in St. Paul – the location of the University's plant biologists, horticulturists, agronomists, natural resources faculty, greenhouses, and experimental fields – will be the focal point for basic research with agricultural, plant and animal health, and environmental applications. Supporting this building and the research it will house ensures not only the University's future on the cutting edge of biology, but also the success of Minnesota's agricultural economy in the next millennium. I hope that in the near future I will be able to report that we have funding for planning and design of the building – and support for the continued success of the initiative. Robert Elde Dean, College of Biological Sciences Back to Frontiers spring 1999