Professor Minute
With Associate Professor Steven Brenner
Brenner, a BioE affiliate, is an associate professor of plant and microbial biology. He received his A.B. from Harvard in 1992, his M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge in 1994 and his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Cambridge in 1997. He joined the Berkeley faculty in 2000. His research interests include gene regulation by alternative splicing and nonsense-mediated mRNA decay, prediction of protein function using Bayesian phylogenomics, and medical and environmental metagenomics.
Peg Skorpinski Photo
What first inspired you to go into engineering?
I was a sloth. I would go to great lengths to build systems to do my work for me.
To date, what has been the most memorable moment in your career?
I wish I could recall. As Mark Twain said to his biographer Albert Paine, “When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not.” He added, “But I’m getting old, and soon I shall remember only the latter.”
Whom do you most admire?
These days I spend the most time admiring my baby daughter.
If you had a few extra hours, what would you do?
Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, explore Yogyakarta, or catch up on sleep.
What should engineering students make sure they do at Berkeley before they graduate?
I would get sued if I put my suggestions in print.
What are you currently reading?
E-mail.
What is one thing you would like to learn how to do?
It would be terrific to figure out how to pay my mortgage.
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