Biotechnology disciplines rank among nation’s best

Several UW–Madison biotechnology-related departments are ranked among the nation’s best. Graduate programs in biochemistry, molecular biology, molecular and general genetics, chemistry, computer science and biostatistics all are ranked in the top 10 by the National Research Council.
In 1998, UW–Madison conferred the most doctorate degrees in science and engineering in the nation. The total number for that year was 537 degrees awarded.
Interest in the biological sciences is strong among incoming students. Approximately 30 percent of 1999 incoming freshmen reported they intended to major in a biology-related department.
In 1998-99, nearly 70 percent of all faculty in the biological sciences were receiving either federal or non-federal extramural funding support for their research.
More than half of UW–Madison’s $417 million in extramural research support in 1998-99 went to faculty affiliated with the biological sciences. Total research grants in genetics and genomics topped $57 million in 1999.
New initiatives are under way in genetics research, starting with the formation of the Genome Center of Wisconsin last year. The center will draw together faculty from diverse fields to participate in national-scale genetics research.
A strategic hiring initiative in genetics has attracted four new, highly accomplished faculty to Madison. They include experts on mapping of genomes, cereal crop genetics, the evolution of corn and the genetics of vertebrate development.