Circle of Discovery

The College of Chemical and Life Sciences inaugurated its Circle of Discovery in September 2007 to honor members of the University of Maryland community for their visionary leadership and outstanding research in the biosciences and chemistry. New members are inducted annually. A permanent display honoring these pioneering scientists is located in the colonnade (lobby) of the Bioscience Research Building.

Constance Cepko

Inducted in 2009
For her contributions to our understanding of the development of the central nervous system and diseases that result in blindness. Dr. Cepko was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in 2003, is Professor of Genetics and Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, and serves on the College's Board of Visitors.

Gary D. Christian

Inducted in 2007
For his international leadership in electroanalytical chemistry, atomic spectroscopy, and flow methods of analysis, and for his pioneering contributions to chemical education. Dr. Christian is the author of more than three hundred papers and several books on instrumental analysis and atomic absorption spectrometry. He received his PhD in Chemistry (’64) from the University of Maryland.

Rita R. Colwell

Inducted in 2009
For her discovery of the environmental source of Vibrio cholerae and her leadership in research on cholera in Bangladesh and on emerging water-borne infectious diseases worldwide. Dr. Colwell was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in 2000 and is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland.

Theodor O. Diener

Inducted in 2007
For his discovery of viroids, single-stranded RNA molecules that cause disease in plants. Dr. Diener’s pioneering work in plant pathology has enabled the control of viroid diseases of many crops. He is a University of Maryland Distinguished University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics.

Walter R. Dowdle

Inducted in 2007
For his lifelong leadership in combating global infectious diseases including polio, influenza, herpes, and AIDS through service in the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Task Force for Child Survival and Development. Dr. Dowdle received his PhD in Microbiology (’60) from the University of Maryland.

Elisabeth Gantt

Inducted in 2009
For her pioneering work in understanding quantum efficiency and excitation migration paths in photosynthesis in bacteria and algae. Dr. Gantt was inducted into the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 1996 and is a Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland.

George H. Lorimer

Inducted in 2009
For his work on the mechanism of RuBisCO, the enzyme that fixes CO2 in photosynthesis, and on the chaperonin proteins that assist RuBisCO to form its three-dimensional structure.

Geerat J. Vermeij

Inducted in 2008
For his pioneering contributions to evolutionary biology and paleontology, particularly the role animals play in shaping each other’s evolutionary fates. Dr. Vermeij is known for chronicling the “arms race” among long-extinct mollusks and their predators. He was a faculty member in the Department of Zoology (now Biology) at the University of Maryland from 1971 until 1988.