Princeton will celebrate on Thursday, May 8, the start of an ambitious genomics program and the opening of an innovative building whose dramatic and functional spaces were tailor-made to support its research and teaching mission.
A reception and public ceremony in the laboratory's atrium, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m., will officially mark the dedication of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics and the Carl Icahn Laboratory.
Speakers will include: Shirley M. Tilghman, Princeton president and founding director of the genomics institute; David Botstein, the institute's incoming director; Rafael Viqoly, the noted architect who designed the laboratory building; Carl Icahn, chairman of Icahn Associates; and Peter B. Lewis, chairman of The Progressive Corporation and a former trustee of the University.
The ceremony will be followed at 4:30 p.m. with an inaugural lecture by Botstein, who will discuss "Genomics, Biology, Medicine and Education." Botstein, whose appointment begins July 1, will hold Princeton's newly established Anthony B. Evnin '62 Professorship of Genomics.
The events will continue with a symposium from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday, May 9, in which the institute scientists will discuss their work. Both Botstein's talk on Thursday and the symposium on Friday will take place in the auditorium of Lewis Thomas Lab, which is next to the Icahn Lab. Full details of the dedication and symposium can be found on the institute's site.
Princeton established the genomics institute in 1999 with a mandate to develop new approaches to researching and teaching biology now that the genomes of humans and other organisms have been sequenced. The institute was made possible through a gift from Lewis, a member of the class of 1955 and head of one of the nation's largest auto insurers. It is named to honor the friendship between Lewis and his classmate Paul Sigler, who was one of the world's leading structural biologists. Sigler, who held the Henry Ford II Professorship of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, died in 2000.
A distinctive architectural achievement, Icahn Laboratory incorporates many unique features intended to provide maximum flexibility for rapidly changing science and to foster the interdisciplinary collaboration that is central to the institute's mission. The laboratory is named in honor of financier Carl Icahn, a member of the class of 1957, whose gift to Princeton supported its construction.
Further details about the institute and the building are available online.
Contact: Evelyn Tu (609) 258-3601
