B Y - S U S A N - W E S S L E R

Rise of research After the Russians launched Sputnik, the U.S. got serious about science. At UGA, that meant a building boom on South Campus. Robert Anderson became UGA's first vice president for research in 1966. The research office rewards outstanding work in the sciences and humanities. Nine active or retired faculty are members of the National Academy of Sciences. Latest inductees: Lois Miller (1997) and Susan Wessler (1998). With help from the Georgia Research Alliance, UGA has recruited seven eminent scholars in fields important to the state's economic future. UGA teamed this year with the Medical College of Georgia to seek $4 million from the General Assembly for a biomedical sciences initiative. Pictured: Life Sciences building (occupied: 1991) Ones who got away The LeConte brothers, John and Joseph, taught science at UGA in the 1850s, but clashed with then-president Alonzo Church. They moved on to California, where they helped establish UC-Berkeley. Charles Herty returned to UGA, his alma mater, in 1891, after receiving a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins. He taught chemistry at the turn of the century and organized inter-collegiate athletics, but was unable to win promotion. He became a research chemist outside of academia and earned an international reputation for his discoveries. Those who stayed Norman Giles was an internationally known authority in genetics when he and his research team were recruited from Yale in 1972, as the University set out to build a reputation in the life sciences. Eugene Odum, whose father taught briefly at UGA, wasn't sure he'd stay when he arrived here in 1940. But he became a campus institution while winning global recognition as the "Father of Ecology." Among his many honors was election to the National Academy of Sciences in 1970.

once heard Fred Davison say that universities are the only place where you can deal with problems that are 20 years away. I think that really sums up the importance of research universities.

I came to the University of Georgia in 1983, largely because Joe Key, who was then head of biological sciences, convinced me to come. Being a New Yorker, I initially thought Georgia was too Southern for me, but when I came for interviews I was impressed by the faculty in my areapeople like Norman Giles, who I consider a legend. And I saw Athens as a place where it could work to have a serious job and raise kids, where child care was available and commuting wasn't a problem.

Since I was hired at age 28, you could say I've come up through the UGA farm system. I'm "home-grown." Over the years, my research areaplant molecular biologyhas lost very few people, which is amazing since this area is very sought after by industry. But UGA tries to keep good people.

The main problem is that it's difficult to get top graduate students, particularly when the economy is strong and they can readily find jobs. We're not putting enough money into fellowships and that has hurt us. You're only as good as your best graduate students.

The University of Georgia is competing against Berkeley, Cornell, and the like. We still don't have the same level of recognition, but when I bring people to campus they're bowled over. They can't believe the intellectual depth of my colleagues.

What's really important to me, though, is the sense of community. I work and live among people I like. That's why I worry about the fact that our work is becoming increasingly computer-generated and some of the personal interaction is disappearing. But important problems will still require people to get together and talk to solve them.

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