Bruce Alberts served two six-year terms as the president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). During his tenure there, Alberts was instrumental in developing the landmark National Science Education standards that have been implemented in school systems nationwide. The type of “science as inquiry” teaching we need, says Alberts, emphasizes “logical, hands-on problem solving, and it insists on having evidence for claims that can be confirmed by others. It requires work in cooperative groups, where those with different types of talents can discover them – developing self confidence and an ability to communicate effectively with others.”
Alberts has spent his career making significant contributions to the field of life sciences, serving in different capacities on a number of prestigious advisory and editorial boards, including as chair of the Commission on Life Sciences, National Research Council, at the National Science Resources Center, and at the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. For the period 2000 to 2009, he serves as the co-chair of the InterAcademy Council, a new organization in Amsterdam governed by the presidents of 15 national academies of sciences and established to provide scientific advice to the world.
Alberts is one of the original authors of The Molecular Biology of the Cell, considered the leading textbook of its kind and used widely in U.S. colleges and universities. He has earned many honors and awards, including 15 honorary degrees. He currently serves on the advisory boards of more than 15 non-profit institutions. He is an Overseer at Harvard University, a Trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a Trustee of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the president-elect of the American Society of Cell Biology.
Alberts graduated from Harvard College with a degree in biochemical sciences. He earned a doctorate from Harvard University in 1965. He joined the faculty of Princeton University in 1966, and after ten years was appointed professor and vice chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In 1980, he was awarded the honor of an American Cancer Society Lifetime Research Professorship. In 1985, he was named chair of the UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
