Let me say a few words about the Barnett Institute. Thirty-five years is a long time, I have many memories, but  after-dinner speeches should be short.   First  let me say I hope you share with the me the sense of pride in all that has been accomplished. From day one, we have always been an Institute that has developed analysis technology to solve real-world problems.

We began in forensic science with a grant from the Dept. of Justice in cooperation with the College of Criminal Justice. One of our scientists testified at the famous trial of the Howard Hughes will. The Institute developed ink analysis which helped date the will. Even though we have moved into other areas, we have to this day the endowed Saferstein Lectureships, which is one of the most prestigious lectureships in the field.

In the 1980's, the Institute devoted efforts in the environmental sciences and biotechnology. Over the years, the Institute has spun out 5 companies. The first was one founded by our long time Associate Director, Bill Giessen, called Cambridge Analytical Associates. This successful environmental testing lab was sold to an English company. In biotechnology, the Institute began in the early days of the industry to develop methods to characterize protein drugs. We established close working ties to companies such as Genentech and Biogen- Idec that continue to this day.

The 1990's saw a focus on the Human Genome Project. Our Institute was a major contributor to the technology to sequence the Human Genome in 2000 and 2001.  The Institute received much recognition for its accomplishments in this area. 

At present our programs have turned in part to a focus on clinical science, working with many medical researchers, particularly at the local hospitals. With support of NIH and well-known foundations, we are discovering biomarkers for diseases such as cancer, psoriasis and HIV. Our researchers are even studying potential disease markers caused by the cooking of foods and pollutants in the atmosphere. Some day each of you may have your blood tested for markers discovered by researchers in the Barnett Institute.

What of the future? First we will continue and strengthen our activities in the areas I have outlined above. Through the generous support of the Barnett family and through the guidance of key alumni such as Rob Garnick, Senior Vice President at Genentech, we are launching the Center for Advanced Regulatory Analysis. This center has as its goal the development of a new generation of analytical methods to characterize and assess biotechnology products. The center is extremely timely, given the problems from China we have all heard concerning heparin and melamine, and the emergence of toxic toys. Our goal is developing tools that will reduce the cost and enhance the safety and efficacy of these products.

What are the reasons for our success? First, we have always sought out real world problems that are important to solve. We try to be as entrepreneurial and innovative as possible. The culture and environment of the Institute is a such that many of our 300-plus alumni -- Ph.D.'s, post-docs, and staff -- have gone on to very successful careers. Our students are our most important product and we are proud of each of them.
We are an Institute that has one foot in the basic research camp and one foot in the industrial camp. In science we talk of working at the interface between two disciplines. The Barnett Institute also works at the interface between research and application. We must be at the interface to solve the problems of the 21'st century.

(Back to the 35'th anniversary celebration)