Issue Date: Oct 20, 2000

By Douglas Frank

Helen M. Berman of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences–New Brunswick was named a Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Paul L. Tractenberg of the School of Law–Newark was named a Distinguished Service Professor by the Board of Governors Oct. 13.

Berman, director of the Protein Data Bank, was cited for her substantial contributions to the field of nucleic acid structure and function and to the understanding of macromolecular crystallography. She was also honored for her development of the Nucleic Acid Database (NDB) to collate and analyze nucleic acid structures.

Tractenberg, a professor of law, was cited for his advocacy of equality in education through reform of school funding, for his founding and leadership of the Education Law Center, and for “pioneering and innovative work to expand the course of educational opportunity, both in New Jersey and across the nation.”

"The board also established a new doctoral program in urban systems at the Graduate School–Newark, to be operated jointly with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The measure is subject to review by the New Jersey Presidents’ Council.

The program is designed to meet a growing need for graduate education that trains students in independent social science research focusing on urban services, planning design and policy in order to improve urban public and community life. It would draw on a variety of existing social science programs at all three schools.

A concept document was approved for the construction of a three-story laboratory/research facility adjacent to Smithers Hall on the Busch campus to house two units from the Division of Life Sciences: genetics and biomaterials.

The $28.3 million structure will accommodate research teams working under the direction of geneticist Jay A. Tischfield, holder of the Duncan and Nancy MacMillan Chair in the department of genetics, and Joachim Kohn, Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and director of the New Jersey Center for Biomaterials.

In other business the board approved a 2000–2001 working budget of $1.3 billion.

This article was published in the Oct 20, 2000 edition of the Rutgers Focus and is available online at http://urwebsrv.rutgers.edu/focus/article/link/226/