Salk Institute for Biological Studies
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a research facility based in La Jolla , a suburb of San Diego , California .
history
It was in 1960 by Jonas Salk established that the polio - vaccine had developed. He wanted to create a facility in which the best researchers can live and work, in an environment that enables and encourages complete concentration on research tasks and collaboration between the most varied of disciplines, with the aim of helping people. The research focus today is in three areas: molecular biology and genetics , neurosciences and plant biology . In research rankings, the institute regularly occupies top positions in the US and worldwide. In 2009, ScienceWatch listed it as the world's leading institution in the field of neurosciences and behavioral sciences.
After Salk became known for the development of the polio vaccine, he managed to get the support of the March of Dimes campaign , which provided funding for the realization of his vision of a research institute. The Torrey Pines Mesa on the Pacific coast north of San Diego has long considered Salk a particularly suitable place for this and in 1960 asked the city of San Diego to donate the land to the research institute. After a referendum in June 1960, he received the land and set about designing a building with the architect Louis Kahn that corresponded to their two ideas of an optimal research and working environment. Construction of the building began in 1962 and the first researchers moved into the first completed laboratories in 1963.
investment
The facility, designed by Kahn in close cooperation with the concrete expert and structural engineer August E. Komendant , was to have a campus structure and, thanks to its attractive location and design, would attract the best researchers in the world. It consists of two wings that are grouped around a central courtyard. They house laboratories and offices, in front of them are small rooms that are used for reflection and contemplation - they are all designed so that they offer a view of the Pacific. The buildings are completely made of exposed concrete , windows, window fronts and screens made of untreated mahogany wood . In the simple and stringent design of the building, the strict symmetry of the complex and the central water channel, the courtyard appears almost sacred; In fact, it is primarily intended to serve as a meeting place for researchers, who can meet here outdoors for most of the year and discuss their research. Boards attached to several walls facing the courtyard show that these opportunities to meet and work together are actively used.
The facility won the American Institute of Architects' Twenty-five Year Award in 1992 .
Researcher
Three of the scientists currently researching at the institute are Nobel Prize winners :
Four faculty members (Elizabeth Blackburn, Sydney Brenner, Roger Guillemin, and Ronald M. Evans ) are recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research . Seven researchers are funded by the HHMI Investigator program . Researchers who have worked here include Nobel Prize winners Francis Crick , Robert W. Holley, and Renato Dulbecco .
NeurIPS
The building complex houses the administration of NeurIPS (short for Neural Information Processing Systems ), a non-profit foundation whose main purpose is to organize the annual NeurIPS conference, which has been taking place since 1987. She deals with advances in machine learning and computational neuroscience. Around 200 new scientific publications are presented each year.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Heavyweights in Molecular Biology / Genetics: For Some, A High Percentage of Elite Papers
- ^ Times Higher Education
- ↑ 26/04/2009 - Institution Rankings in Neuroscience & Behavior, 1998-2008 - ScienceWatch.com
Coordinates: 32 ° 53 ′ 14 " N , 117 ° 14 ′ 46" W.