Peter Bruns named a vice president of Hughes Institute

Peter J. Bruns, the Cornell professor of molecular biology and genetics who worked to expand science-education opportunities for students at all levels, has been named vice president for grants and special programs at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).

A member of the Cornell faculty since 1969, Bruns will divide his time between the university and the institute until the academic year ends in the spring before moving to the institute in Chevy Chase, Md. He will head the institute's grants program, which awards more than $100 million annually, primarily to support science education efforts at colleges, universities, medical schools, museums, zoos and other institutions nationwide.

Announcing the appointment, HHMI President Thomas R. Cech said: "I've known Peter Bruns as an outstanding scientist for many years. During the past decade, he also has emerged as one of the country's most creative science educators. Peter wants students of all ages to share our excitement about biology and understand how it is changing the world. He's been a leader in strengthening the ties between scientists and schools, improving the effectiveness of science classrooms and helping to train the next generation of researchers. He will be a wonderful addition to the institute."

At the university, Bruns established a number of innovative science-education programs, including the Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers, which brings New York state high school teachers together each summer for lectures, field trips, hands-on laboratories and computer training to improve their teaching of molecular biology. With assistance from HHMI, the teachers' institute has created satellite operations in Cleveland, Boston, Hartford, Conn., and New York City. He also took the lead in expanding opportunities for Cornell students interested in doing original laboratory research in biology and related disciplines, and he currently serves as director of one such program, Cornell Presidential Research Scholars. Bruns has been the program director for three grants (totaling $6.2 million) that Cornell received through HHMI's Undergraduate Biological Sciences Education Program.

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute was established in 1953 by the aviator-industrialist for whom it is named. The principal purpose of HHMI, with an annual budget exceeding $650 million and an endowment of about $13 billion, is the direct conduct of biomedical research.