Convocation 2009

2009 is a landmark year for science. The 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, father of evolutionary biology, and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his classic text On the Origin of Species, this year is being marked with tributes across the world. It is also a milestone year for The Rockefeller University, which on June 11 celebrated the largest graduating class in its history.

The 41 graduates of the class of 2009, the fifth class of The David Rockefeller Graduate Program, brings the number of scientists with Rockefeller Ph.Ds. to 1,010. This year’s graduates include 28 men and 13 women from Albania, Bulgaria, Canada, England, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the South Pacific island of Niue, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the United States.

Of the 30 students in the Ph.D. program, 23 will go on to postdoctoral research, one will attend medical school, one will enter law school, one will be a consultant, one will take time to care for her newborn and three are considering their options. The 11 M.D.-Ph.D. students will return to medical school to finish their M.Ds.

This annual Convocation issue of BenchMarks salutes the Rockefeller University class of 2009.