Matti Saraste

The Alumni Association would like to thank all those who have generously donated to the Matti Saraste Fund. Matti, who was a Group Leader and Unit Coordinator of EMBL’s Structural and Computational Biology Unit (1990- 2001), died in 2001. To commemorate him, and in recognition of his commitment both to science and to EMBL, the Matti Saraste Fellowship Fund was established.

The aim of the fund, which is administered by the Alumni Association, had originally been to support a student in the EMBL International PhD Programme. While a substantial sum of money has been donated, the total is far short of what is required and it is unlikely that it will increase significantly.

Alumni board members, in consultation with Matti’s family, have given careful thought to how best to use the money.

• The majority view, and the option favoured by Matti’s family, was that a memorial be created in the grounds of the new ATC building, such as a garden. • A second possibility would be to establish a Matti Saraste Prize or honorary lectureship of €1,000 per annum in perpetuity.
• Lastly, some board members felt that the best use of the money would still be to pay for a studentship, accepting that this would be a ‘one off’, rather than a regular commemoration, due to the limited sum available.

The board will make a final decision by holding a vote in January 2007. You are therefore invited to send your comments and suggestions on the best use of the fund to Mehrnoosh Rayner by 5 January 20.