January 31,
2006
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to inform you that
Dr. Aristides Patrinos, our Associate Director
of Science for Biological and Environmental
Research, will be leaving the Department of
Energy’s Office of Science to become President
of Synthetic Genomics, Inc. on February 8, 2006.
Dr. J. Craig Venter founded the
company in 2005 to develop and commercialize
synthetic biology (http://www.syntheticgenomics.com).
Synthetic Genomics is using diverse sets of
genes, including those from over 300 fully-sequenced
genomes, to develop synthetic organisms for
specific industrial applications. Its initial
focus is on ethanol and hydrogen production.
The company also may apply these scientific
advances for the manufacture of chemicals and
pharmaceuticals, and to develop new ways to
enable carbon sequestration and environmental
remediation.
Ari Patrinos has been a major
figure in the fields of biology and environmental
science for many years. He played an historic
role in the successful Human Genome Project,
the founding of the DOE Joint Genome Institute
and the design and launch of DOE’s visionary
genomics (GTL) program. He is a leading authority
on structural biology, global environmental
change, nuclear medicine and health effects,
and basic research underpinning DOE’s
environmental restoration effort. As those of
us who have been privileged to be Ari’s
colleague know, he has been a great ambassador
for DOE and the Office of Science throughout
the scientific community, both here in the U.S.
and around the world.
For all his accomplishments and
talents, Ari is a remarkably modest man. His
official biography mentions his membership in
a number of scientific professional societies,
but it includes no mention whatsoever of his
many awards.
For example, Ari received the
Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executives
in 2001 “for his exemplary leadership
of the human genomic research and global climate
change programs, which have resulted in extraordinary
public benefits and acclaimed international
recognition.” Ari was honored in 2003
with the Secretary of Energy’s Gold Award
for his leadership of the Human Genome Project
for “this outstanding scientific and management
accomplishment [which] has opened the door to
the biotechnology revolution that now offers
such promise for human health, clean energy
and a cleaner environment.” Ari was recognized
by President Bush with the 2004 Presidential
Rank Award for Meritorious Executives “for
his sustained extraordinary vision, leadership
and achievements in genomics and climate change
science.” And next month, at the AAAS
annual meeting in St. Louis, Ari will be inducted
as an AAAS Fellow “for truly outstanding
direction and implementation of interdisciplinary
projects, especially with respect to leadership
in genome research.”
We also know Ari is devoted to
his family, including his wife Kathryn and daughters
Maritsa and Thalia. He has a great passion for
the Rolling Stones and for soccer, especially
the English club Arsenal and the Greek team
AEK. We were delighted, if not surprised, to
learn that, in a poll by the major daily paper
in Athens to determine the 2005 Person of the
Year in Greece, the newspaper’s readers
ranked Dr. Patrinos fifth!
I have accepted Ari’s resignation
with sincere regret – he is an integral
part of our Office and embodies the very best
of DOE science – but I also congratulate
him on this outstanding opportunity and wish
him continued success in his new position. We
will miss him. I am confident we will continue
to hear from and about this marvelous scientific
pioneer for many more years to come.
Sincerely,
Raymond L. Orbach
Director, Office of Science
U.S. Department of Energy
|