Education
& Academic Research
The greater San Diego metropolis
in Southern California harbors one of the premier conglomerates
of biomedical research. Both branches of the California higher
education system, the University
of California and the California
State University, have a campus located in San Diego with
a total enrollment of some 50K students. The research and teaching
activities at these Universities are complemented by The
Scripps Research Institute, the Salk
Institute for Biological Science, and The
Burnham Institute. Both are nonprofit organization focussing
on basic research, but are also involved in teaching programs
through the public Universities and their own programs (Scripps
Graduate Programs in Biology and Chemistry).
Whatislife.com
is of course not the first and will hopefully not be the last
organization dedicated to similar ideas. A good example is
the San Diego Science Alliance
(SDSA). Founded in 1996 this group of industry representatives
"is dedicated to the support of math and science literacy
and education in grades K-12 within the greater San Diego,
California area. SDSA is committed to fostering excellence
in science education through its network of businesses, educators
and scientists." Science literacy is concerned with the non-scientist,
the overwhelming majority of students and adults who experience
mostly a random, spotty, and sometimes frustrating interaction
with science. Whatislife.com
is dedicated to to make science understandable and interesting
to exactly this deserving majority.
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Industry
Research & Development
With molecular biology spinning
off into recombinant gene- and biotechnology during the 1980s,
some 140 plus biotechnology companies have proliferated in
San Diego county. The traditional boarder between academia
and industry that typified the European higher education system
has been replaced by a dynamic market place between publicly
funded and proprietary research. In fact, the influx of venture
capital has provided a many university professor with the
opportunity to spin off his or her most profitable ideas into
a for-profit enterprise. The next-generation molecular biologist
better double major in science and business.
San Diego still
attracts major pharmaceutical companies willing to expand
or relocate their R&D departments. Among them the
Genomics Institute of the Novartis
Research Foundation specializing on functional genomics,
Johnson
& Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.,
and Pfizer
Global Research enlarging their presence in pharmaceutical
in genomics based drug discovery. For a more complete list
of San Diego based biotechnology research browse the member
listing of Biocom.
Association for the
Life Sciences Industry
What better
place than San Diego to promote science education and scientific
literacy? Yet physical closeness between industry and academic
institutions does not guarantee intellectual exchange, it
rather hardens real or perceived compartmentalization. Of
course, what can be achieved is a matter of priorities and
dedication. Whatislife.com's
raison d'être is to help exchange values and ideas nourished
by the many interest groups in a larger community across the
boundaries between those groups, to make it known what is
taught in the local class rooms and what is being researched
in the nearby laboratories.
San Diego Super Computer
Center
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