Nobel Laureate Yuan T. Lee Gives a Lecture

“In 2001, when I was Minister of Science and Technology Policy and was developing the idea for OIST, I began looking for someone who could help make my vision a reality.  I interviewed numerous Nobel Laureates, but among all those I met during my search, Dr. Brenner was one of those who responded most strongly to my idea for a graduate university for science and technology. I was highly impressed by his energy and vision, and I knew then that I had found the right person to oversee the long process of establishing OIST,” said Mr. Koji Omi.

Pianist Etsuko Hirose with Nobel Laureates Torsten Wiesel, Yuan Tseh Lee, Jerome Friedman and Tim Hunt, and OIST executives

OIST President and CEO Dr. Peter Gruss remembered Brenner. “Some people watch history; others like Sydney made it happen,” Gruss said. “With Sydney’s passing the world has lost one of the most remarkable, witty and hardworking scientists of the late 20th century.”

Dr. Sydney Brenner giving a talk at OIST in 2008

Students visiting the OIST Marine Science Station watch as the resident squid are fed.