Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences in
Washington,
D.C., is known for his work both in biochemistry and molecular biology,
in
particular for his extensive study of the protein complexes that allow
chromosomes
to be replicated. Alberts graduated from Harvard College and earned a
doctorate
from Harvard University in 1965. He joined the faculty of Princeton
University in
1966 and after ten years moved to the Department of Biochemistry and
Biophysics
at the University of California, San Francisco, where he became chair.
He is a
principal author of The Molecular Biology of the Cell, through 3 editions
the
leading advanced textbook in this important field. His most recent text,
Essential
Cell Biology (1997), is intended to present this subject matter to a
wider audience.
Dr. Alberts has long been committed to the improvement of science
education,
dedicating much of his time to educational projects such as City Science,
a program
that seeks to improve science teaching in San Francisco elementary
schools.