News and Publications

2002 HIGHLIGHTS

TSRI named its graduate college "Kellogg School of Science and Technology" in honor of the extraordinary contributions to science and education of philanthropists Janet R. ("Jean") Kellogg and W. Keith Kellogg II. Their support of the program brings together two long-standing objectives in their giving--support for science and support for education. In special recognition, TSRI conferred honorary doctorates of science on the Kelloggs at its 2002 commencement ceremony.

An April 2002 edition of U.S. News & World Report ranked TSRI's graduate program sixth overall in chemistry--and second in the specialty of organic chemistry--among all such programs in the nation. The publication also ranked TSRI's Ph.D. program ninth overall in the biological sciences, and sixteenth in the specialty of biochemistry.

TSRI students were recognized by a number of prestigious awards. Phil Baran, Ph.D., a 2002 graduate of the program, and his advisor K.C. Nicolaou, Ph.D., who is department chair, Aline W. and L.S. Skaggs Professor of Chemical Biology, and Darlene Shiley Chair in Chemistry, won the American Chemical Society's 2002 Nobel Laureate Signature Award. This honor recognizes the achievements of both an outstanding graduate student and his/her mentor. Others students in the Kellogg School received fellowships from the American Heart Association; the Howard Hughes Medical Institute; the National Science Foundation; the National Institutes of Health; the National Defense and Science Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program; Achievement Rewards for College Scientists; the American Chemical Society; La Jolla Interfaces in Science; the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada; and several private donors.

Twenty-one students graduated in May in a commencement ceremony featuring TSRI Professor Paul Schimmel, Ph.D., who is Ernest and Jean Hahn Professor and Chair of Molecular Biology and Chemistry, as the keynote speaker. Some of this year's graduating students now work at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Uppsala University (Sweden), University of Minnesota, University of California at San Diego, the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, Pharmacia Corporation, and Attenuon, L.L.C.

Thirty-six students entered the program. Students follow a core curriculum in either macromolecular and cellular structure and chemistry (MCSC) or chemistry, in addition to enrolling in elective courses. Elective courses provide training in such areas as x-ray diffraction, statistical mechanics, special nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, immunology, neurosciences, and virology. Classes are offered by more than 100 faculty members representing every department at TSRI.

The Kellogg School launched a new web site--at http://www.scripps.edu/phd/i_flashhome.html--which reflects the high quality of the graduate programs. The new site offers a contemporary look, easy navigation, and up-to-date information. In addition to welcome letters from the president, the dean, and the associate deans, the site features descriptions of faculty research, pictures of the campus, and links to related information, including news, lectures, and student resources.

Eighteen graduate students served as mentors to high school students through TSRI's Summer Research Education Program, which was created to expose the high school students to a variety of contemporary issues in basic biomedical research, provide a hands-on laboratory experience, and motivate and prepare students for continuing education in the sciences. Graduate students also developed and presented two series of tutorials--one for local high school students and another for middle and high school science teachers.