Some exciting news today! We’ve had Murray Gell-Mann join the USC faculty! See an article about it here. As you may know, he is the inventor/discoverer of quarks, the particles that make up, among other things, the protons and neutrons that make up the nuclei of every atom in your body.
Speaking of bodies, he’ll actually be focusing on medical issues, as far as I understand it:
In his new role, Gell-Mann will collaborate with cancer researcher and oncologist David Agus, professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and director of the USC Center for Applied Molecular Medicine.
Elizabeth Garrett, interim senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, sees USC as an ideal incubator for their collaborative work.
“We’re honored to have Murray Gell-Mann join the faculty,” she said. “He’s helped us understand our universe at the subatomic level, and he’ll now work with David Agus to investigate an equally challenging frontier — the complexity of human disease. Their partnership demonstrates USC’s firm commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration that provides important new insights and drives society forward.”
More in the article.
-cvj
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I think because of Gell-Mann’s work, this perspective can bring a fresh outlook to others areas of specializations. I wouldn’t discount his potential contributions either.
Best,
I agree with the ‘done for publicity and notoriety’ comment, but I can’t help but be curious about the outcome of this partnership. The press release if vague. Exactly what kind of research will they be doing together?
I wouldn’t discount Gell-Mann’s potential to contribute. I’d bet that Gell-Mann operating at 50% of his peak efficiency is more likely to contribute significantly than the vast majority of those currently in molecular medicine.
Well ok Gell-Mann has a great history but he is 80+ now. It seems to me that this was done for the publicity and to add another Nobel prize winner to its faculty.
Wow. That’s interesting. Gell-Mann is a giant for sure.