Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco
Editor, Science Magazine
Bruce Alberts is Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California at San Francisco, a staunch advocate of science education, and the editor of one of the most prestigious scientific journals, the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science. He has received many honors and awards, including fourteen honorary degrees.
Alberts is widely recognized for his work both in biochemistry and molecular biology, in particular for his contributions to our understanding of how a cell's genetic material, which is stored in the form of organized structures called chromosomes, is replicated as the cell divides. He is one of the original authors of Molecular Biology of the Cell, still the standard textbook for most undergraduate courses in the field.
From 1993 to 2005, Alberts was the president of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences. A major focus of his tenure was the improvement of science education: He was instrumental in developing the landmark National Science Education Standards, which have been implemented in school systems nationwide. Another of his contributions to science education was the academy's Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, a book that aims to help science teachers improve the teaching of the fundamental principles of biology.
