Dedication to Excellence

Faculty is the most important asset of any great university. At Florida State University, we are fortunate that our faculty comprises men and women who are dedicated to excellence and widely acknowledged as the finest in their fields. Here are just a few of them:

Donald Caspar

Professor Donald L.D. Caspar is a pioneer in the field of structural biology, an offshoot of molecular biology that uses imaging techniques and molecular modeling to characterize the three-dimensional structures of viruses. A member of the National Academy of Science and a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Caspar was one of the world's first scientists to recognize the beauty and symmetry of viral structure.

Caspar has been peering inside molecular assemblies, postulating on their structure and function and enriching scientists' understanding of the basic chemical building blocks of life since the 1950s. At FSU, he leads a team in the Program of Structural Biology that focuses primarily on answering this key question: How do protein molecules move to build complex structures (such as viruses), transmit and receive signals, do mechanical work and myriad other functions?

Professor Caspar's most lauded career discovery is a phenomenon known as icosahedral symmetry as applied to the physical, 3-D structure of viruses. In 1962 he and Nobel laureate Sir Aaron Klug came up with the landmark theory of molecular quasi-equivalence, which outlined the surprising symmetry inherent in many virus structures. The theory helped explain how these particles adapted their shapes and interactions in different parts of the structure to arrange themselves into an artfully symmetrical shell.

Caspar's research is supported in part by the National Cancer Institute.

Micelle Bourgeois

While some scientists are looking for ways to explain memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease, Professor Michelle Bourgeois is seeking ways to help patients cope with their condition-and maybe even improve their memories. A scientist/scholar in the Department of Communication Disorders, she has had some success with Alzheimer's patients through the help of Memory Books. This tool takes advantage of several of the patients' remaining skills: the ability to read short sentences, the desire to converse with their families and nursing home staff, and the ability to recognize family members from photographs. The books are a collection of facts about different patients' lives, have one sentence per page and might include a photo or illustration. The small books have gotten patients to talk more and recall facts about themselves and others to the joy and amazement of their families. Professor Bourgeois has since published numerous articles on her research and two handbooks-one for medical professionals and another for family care-givers-about creating and using memory books for improved communication with victims of Alzheimer's disease. She recently completed a four-year study funded by the National Institute on Aging to train nursing home personnel how to use the books and other communication strategies in their work with the memory-impaired.

J. Robert Schrieffer

Physics Professor J. Robert Schriffer esteemed worldwide for his research on the theory of superconductivity, is chief scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. He is the 1972 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics, an honor he shared that year with John Bardeen and Leon N. Cooper for their work in developing the first successful microscopic theory of superconductivity. His book The Theory of Superconductivity, published in 1964, is widely considered one of the classic texts in the field.

Recipient of the Oliver E. Buckley Solid State Physics Prize, the Comstock Prize of the National Academy of Science, and the National Medal of Science, he is past president of the American Physical Society and the chairman of the Scientific Council of the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste. Professor Schrieffer also is a member of the Academies of Science of the United States, Denmark and Russia.

At the NHMFL, Schreiffer directs a team of investigators whose work focuses on the theory of high-temperature superconductivity and the dynamics of electrons in strong magnetic fields.

Robert A. Holton

When people hear of FSU's contributions to scientific research, among the first references likely will be to the work of a team of organic chemists led by Professor Robert A. Holton.

In the 1990s, Holton's career ambition was to solve one of organic chemistry's most difficult problems-how to artificially make one of nature's most complex compounds in the lab. The targeted compound, paclitaxel, had been extracted from the bark of the Pacific yew tree in the early 1960s. Later the compound was discovered to have remarkable cancer-fighting properties. But the difficulty and expense associated with extracting it from nature made the drug exceedingly scarce for clinical treatments.

In 1994, Holton's group became the first to synthesize the compound, better known as Taxol. Manufactured and marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb, Taxol now is FDA-approved for treating ovarian, breast and other cancers. In 1999, the compound reportedly was the top-selling anti-cancer drug in the world.

Holton's extraordinary success in developing Taxol chemistry since has led to the synthesis of dozens of Taxol derivatives, some of which are showing even more promise in early trials in mice than the parent molecule. More than 75 patents or applications have been issued or filed by FSU and Holton. Two spin-off entities, The Molecular Design and Synthesis Research Foundation and Taxolog Inc., recently have been formed to expedite the transfer of Holton's research from the lab to cancer treatment applications around the world.

Over the course of his research, the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health has supported Holton's group.

Zachary Fisk

Professor Zachary Fisk is considered one of the foremost condensed matter physicists in the world. Gaining fundamental insight into the make up and function of various metallic and semi-metallic compounds is a major focus of his work at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. An internationally recognized experimentalist in condensed matter research, Fisk explores the electronic properties of magnetic and superconducting materials. His work shows promise of establishing whole new classes of electronically important materials.

Fisk studies the physics of a family of semi-metal, nonmagnetic compounds known as hexaborides. In recent years, he made the surprising discovery that hexaborides become magnetic under special conditions, a fundamental find that poses new theories in magnetism. For his career achievements, Fisk was recently inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. The National Science Foundation supports his research.

Mimi Graham

Mimi Graham is director of the university's Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy, established in 1989 with a mission to influence public policies aimed at young children. Work at the center focuses on translating research for application of best practices in childcare, school readiness, infant mental health, teen parenting, and other programs for young children and their families. New research at the center includes a three-year study to identify maternal depression in rural Gadsden County and a pilot study of infant mental health.

An expert on young children with risks and disabilities, Professor Graham works to enlarge public understanding about families and young children and to foster development of stronger families and better maternal and infant health. She directs a multidisciplinary faculty with expertise ranging from public health planning to infant mental health and cost benefit analysis.

The Florida Department of Health, Department of Children and Families, Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, HRSA Office of Maternal and Child Health and the Administration for Children Youth & Families are among the funding agencies that make research at the center possible.