Athens, Ga. – The department of genetics at the University of Georgia will hold its Silver Anniversary Symposium on Saturday, April 16, in the Mahler Auditorium of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The program will take place between 9 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and will include presentations from 12 former Ph.D. students. Speakers will discuss both their current scientific research and their career paths in academic and industrial settings.
The presentation will not only mark the 25th anniversary of the formation of the department of genetics but also the 90th birthday of Norman Giles, the senior member of the initial group of faculty who founded the interdepartmental program in genetics in 1972.
Following his recruitment from Yale University, Giles and six colleagues (holding joint appointments in the departments of biochemistry, microbiology, botany and zoology) started operations on the fifth floor of the biological sciences building. In 1975, the program received a pre-doctoral training grant from the National Institutes of Health.
In 1978, the program began granting M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in genetics. In January 1980, the program received departmental status. Over the past 25 years, the department has grown to 22 faculty members. Seven current or former members of the department have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
For more information, contact Sidney R. Kushner at 706/542-8000.
