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Torsten Wiesel Set to Retire After “Historic” Presidency at RU news&notes NOVEMBER 13, 1998 VOLUME 9, NUMBER 8 THE ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY Friday lecture Torsten Wiesel set to retire after RU’s Müller will discuss “historic” presidency at RU evolution of eukaryotes ROBIN THOMAS orsten Wiesel, president of The During the Wiesel administration, the ssociate Professor and head of Rockefeller University, will retire university also established six interdisci- laboratory Miklós Müller is an Tnext month after serving the uni- plinary research centers, in the areas of AM.D. with an interest in the versity for fifteen years, seven of those as human genetics, immunology, sensory diversity of life and its evolution; Charles president. neuroscience, Alzheimer’s research, chem- Darwin was an evolutionist with medical A neurobiologist who shared the istry, and physics and biology. To support training. A bit of Darwin will creep into 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine, Wiesel these centers, appointments and related the Friday lecture today (Nov. 13) when joined the Rockefeller faculty in 1983 to capital improvements, the university has Müller discusses “Evolutionary head a new laboratory of neurobiology, raised $190 million in private gifts during Adaptations to Anaerobic Life in and later that year he was named the the seven years of Wiesel’s presidency. Eukaryotes.” university’s Vincent and Brooke Astor In addition, Wiesel set and met his Free-living and parasitic unicellular Professor. He became the university’s goals for achieving a balanced operating eukaryotes (organisms whose cells have seventh president in 1992. budget, rebuilding and beautifying the nuclei) have long been the focus of Under Wiesel’s direction, The campus, strengthening the campus com- Müller’s work at RU. In the past quarter Rockefeller University formulated and munity and establishing links with con- century, he became interested in the successfully implemented a strategic aca- stituencies and communities beyond the question of how some of these organisms demic plan to enhance research and edu- university’s gates evolve in environments without oxygen? cation. As a result, the university now As told in the following pages, the The main adaptive change to be noted has 74 active laboratories, with 30 Wiesel presidency has enjoyed resound- was the loss of mitochondria, the directed by newly appointed or promot- ing success. The university community is organelles that supply a cell with energy. Torsten Wiesel is retiring next month after seven ed faculty members, including 16 at the grateful for Torsten Wiesel’s service and While some of the species have no rem- years as president of The Rockefeller University. rank of tenured professor. wishes him well in his future pursuits. nant of this organelle, others have a structure called a hydrogenosome—a structure discovered in Müller’s lab at RU 25 years ago—that has a common origin An interview with President Wiesel with mitochondria. Müller believes that the study of such metabolic adaptations Recently Geoffrey Montgomery, assistant can help scientists elucidate the origin of to the president for special projects, and eukaryotes. Mariellen Gallagher, vice president of com- In agreement with a growing number munications and public affairs, met with of other researchers, he assumes that the retiring President Torsten Wiesel to get his meeting of two organisms was the criti- thoughts on his presidential tenure at RU. cal step in the emergence of the eukary- otic cell, a process he will discuss in GM: Before becoming president of RU, detail in his talk. “This is the only event did you ever envision yourself as the head we can safely deduce,” he notes, “but we of an institution? cannot find support for the broadly accepted view, found in may textbooks, TW: Not really, I didn’t have any that among the living organisms we can ambitions in that direction. I was chair- find forms that reveal the step-by-step man of the Department of Neurobiology assembly of the cell. Without exception, at Harvard. But there the current chair- extant eukaryotic organisms seem to man, being good friends with me, asked Wiesel chats with students at an RU picnic. have diverged from a common ancestor me if I would consider running the place that had all major components charac- for a while. So, it was more a matter of but my training was a long time ago. TW: Genetics is probably the area teristic of the eukaryotic cell. In addition collegiality than one of me striving for And the whole field of molecular biology that has come to the forefront for all of the position. and genetics has developed during my us in biology. Certainly if I did start out In some ways I feel that this presi- time as a scientist. This has been one of today, genetics would be part of my dency [at RU] has been a little bit like the great challenges of this job. armament for studying problems in neu- that—it has been quite congenial and In some ways I have felt that I was roscience. But I still would go into neu- collegial. not particularly suited in terms of my roscience. scientific competence to have such a GM: You’ve said that in your Harvard broad mandate. Therefore, I have come GM: Was your background in psychiatry days, a lot of administration was done in to rely very much on my colleagues on of any help to you in this job? the hallway. Here at RU, it is a little bit the faculty for consultation and discus- more formal. sion; I also consulted with scientists TW: (Laughs) I think perhaps my from outside the university for advice. attitude with people, my willingness and Associate Professor Miklós Müller will challenge TW: You are right. It’s a bigger assign- One of the attractive aspects of being interest in listening to them, has been of conventional textbook explanations of eukaryotic ment because being president is a greater president is that it has expanded my sci- some help. I should say that I was never evolution at the Friday lecture today (Nov. 13). responsibility. Here there is such a broad entific interests. As a working scientist, a card-carrying psychiatrist. I never com- range of science—from physics to clini- doing or discussing new experiments mitted myself to psychiatry as a profes- to increasing specialization, functional cal science. I was trained in medicine, every day, you rarely have the time or sion—but perhaps that training does losses played a significant role in the fur- opportunity to venture too far from the give you a more open perspective about ther evolution of this ancestral cell.” questions you are studying in your labo- people. “My major statement,” says Müller, is Campus reflections ratory. that the conventional explanation “ain’t 2 MG: Have you found the people here necessarily so. One has to look at the GM: Are there any areas of science, out- interesting? available evidence with a fresh eye.” 3 Come one, come all side your own, that you have been particu- Müller’s talk will begin at 3:45 p.m. larly attracted to—that if you were young see WIESEL, page 3 in Caspary Auditorium and will be pre- and starting out today you could imagine ceded by a tea at 3:15 p.m. in Abby 4 Calendar yourself going into? Aldrich Lounge. All are welcome. 2 news&notes NOVEMBER 13, 1998 The RU community reflects on Anniversary-Retirement Dinner Torsten Wiesel’s tenure The annual Anniversary-Retirement Dinner will be held on Mon., Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in Abby Aldrich Lounge. Any retirees on campus who did not receive an invitation and would like to attend should call Amy Ites in Human Resources Office, x8300, by the end of the day today, Fri., Nov. 13. Special Honoree Verline Barrett Hoover Gonzalez Torsten Wiesel Mario Castillo Jules Hirsch David Cowburn Elizabeth Horak 45 Years: James E. Darnell Rose Lawrence T.P. King Angie Dohnert Edgar Gordon Lewis Eugene Roth Herbert Gibbs Robert Luckey Victor Wilson Cynthia Payne Aleksandar Angela Piperno Milutinovic 40 Years: Anne-Marie Scully Herbert Negron Paul Rosen Paulette Zabriskie Frank O’Brien Mary Xikis Geraldine Perdomo Retirees: Julien Rouse 25 Years: William Agosta Vera Smith David Rockefeller and Torsten Wiesel Norma Akande Leonard Beaton Iris Vallecilla Vincent Alleyne Isaias Coats Sandra Walsh David Rockefeller, Honorary the talents, insights, and energy of oth- Chairman of the Board ers in accomplishing our shared goals Working with Torsten over the past and dreams. His inclusive style brought Tom Muir, Assistant Professor seven years has given me an apprecia- trustees, faculty and staff together in a and Head of Lab tion for the qualities that have made shared purpose. In a real sense, he has He was proactive in getting chemistry Potpourri him both a great scientist and a great made us feel that his accomplishments back here, and he was very persuasive in administrator. His wit, warmth and are our accomplishments. He is an convincing all of us that there was a charm, his wide-ranging knowledge, uncommon individual and his is truly a chance for interdisciplinary research, TRIP deadline his appreciation for culture and art historic presidency. that that was the environment we were Today, Fri., Nov. 13, is the last and, most importantly, his firm insis- getting into. day to return your forms to tence upon the highest standards of Maria Karayiorgou, Assistant Human Resources for the excellence have made Rockefeller Professor and Head of Lab Fred Bohen, Transportation Reimbursement University a stronger institution. I consider myself fortunate and hon- Executive Vice President Incentive Program (TRIP). ored that I was recruited under President Wiesel has countless attrib- Marnie Imhoff, Vice President Torsten. His personal scientific interest utes as a leader, but one stands out for Purchasing Corner for Development in neurobiology, behavior and psychi- me.
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