A Century of Biology at Boston University







	Click here for the complete roster of attendees Click here for "Alumni Recollections"

BU Biology Celebrates its Centennial Anniversary

2004 marked the 100th anniversary of the Biology Department at Boston University. Faculty, staff, alumni, and students came together over the weekend of November 12–13, 2004, to celebrate with talks by accomplished Biology alums and faculty members, tours of new lab facilities, poster sessions featuring current student research, and a gala dinner on Saturday night. It was a fitting commemoration of an important milestone in the history of a department that has grown from humble origins into a leading center for life sciences in the United States.

This centennial web site will stay active to chronicle the celebration and the department's achievements. We hope you’ll browse our scrapbook of the department’s past accomplishments, view photos from the centennial celebration, read with pride about BU Biology's current strengths.

Read reflections, memories, and class notes from Biology alumni.

Read chair Geoffrey Cooper's Convocation Address to 2004 graduates of the BU BIology Department

Read a 1907 Bostonia article by Professor Arthur Weysse, the first chair of the BU Biology Department, on how biology should fit into a liberal arts education -- a much-debated proposition at the time.

Share your accomplishments! Take a moment to complete our poll of BU Biology alumni. The “Alumni Recollections” section of the poll will be posted on this site, so you can share your news with your fellow Biology grads.

Click to access the Biology Alumni Survey

Centennial Celebration Schedule (printer-friendly version)

Friday, November 12
7–9 p.m.	Opening Reception Trustees' Ballroom, ninth floor, 1 Sherborn Street Featuring a welcome from Dean Jeffrey Henderson, chair Geoffrey Cooper, and Biology 100th Alumni chair Robert Kershner (CAS’75)
Saturday, November 13
8:30–9:30 a.m.	Registration and Breakfast School of Management atrium, 595 Commonwealth Avenue
9:30 a.m.–noon	BU Biology Alumni Talks First-floor auditorium, School of Management 595 Commonwealth Avenue Barney Schlinger, Ph.D. (GRS’83, 88) “Fledgling from the B.U Biology Nest into the World of Avian Neuroscience” Introduction by Professor Gloria Callard Patricia A. D’Amore, Ph.D. (GRS’78) “Regulation of blood vessel growth in development and pathology” Introduction by Professor David Shepro Peter V. August, Ph.D. (GRS’81) “Spawning Credible, Relevant Science: Reflections on the Culture of Learning in BU Biology” Introduction by Professor Thomas H. Kunz
Noon–1 p.m.	Lunch Fourth-floor Executive Dining Room, School of Management, 595 Commonwealth Avenue
1–3 p.m.	New Directions in Biological Research at BU 4th Floor conference room, School of Management 595 Commonwealth Avenue “Biology at BU Today,” an overview by Geoffrey Cooper, Biology Department chair * Professor Paul Barber, “Searching For Needles in Watery Haystacks: The Study and Application of Marine Larval Dispersal” * Professor Kim McCall, “Programmed Cell Death in Development” * Professor Matt Wachowiak, “Seeing What the Nose Tells the Brain: Imaging Odor Coding in the Olfactory System” * Professor Karen Warkentin, “Ecology and Development in a Dangerous World: Embryo Responses to Risk”
3–6 p.m.	Biology Department lab tours Poster sessions of the work of current students Tours of new Life Science and Engineering Building Alumni/student networking
6:15–7:15 p.m.	Reception School of Management atrium, 595 Commonwealth Avenue
7:15 p.m.	Celebratory dinner Trustees' Ballroom, ninth floor, 1 Sherborn Street Faculty and alumni remarks before dessert