AEROSPACE

WASHINGTON, D.C.--In recognition of his innovative use of information technology in the expanding field of life sciences, Dr. J. Craig Venter, President and Chairman of The Center for the Advancement of Genomics, has been chosen as this year's recipient of the EMC Information Leadership Award presented as part of the annual Computerworld Honors Awards gala. A nominating committee comprising leaders in government, technology and education selected Dr. Venter as the 2003 recipient. "Dr. Venter's unparalleled contribution in genomics has moved society closer to personalized medicine while unlocking many of the mysteries of both human genes and disease prevention," said Mike Ruettgers, EMC's Executive Chairman, who presented Venter with the award on Monday night. "Through his leadership role in the sequencing and analysis of the human genome, Dr. Venter has demonstrated the essential role of information technology in biological investigation and opened a new vista in our understanding of the information basis of life." "Advanced computers along with new mathematical algorithms were the key technological advances that allowed my team to sequence the human genome faster than anyone ever thought possible," said Dr. Venter. "As information technology advances, so does scientific research including the identification of the genetic components of human disease. Scientists rely on innovative technologies introduced by companies like EMC so that we can focus on the very nature of biological discovery." In addition to his work at the Center for the Advancement of Genomics, Dr. Venter is also the President and Chairman of the Institute for Biological Energy Alternatives and the J. Craig Venter Science Foundation. In 1998, he co-founded Celera Genomics and served as its President and Chief Scientific Officer until 2002. In 1992 Venter founded and is still Chairman of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), a non-for-profit genomics research institution. At TIGR, he led the first successful effort to sequence an entire organism's genome. Six years later at Celera in 2000, he used the whole genome "shotgun" sequencing approach to sequence and assemble the human genome. EMC is a leading provider of automated networked storage solutions to the life sciences industry. For more than a decade, EMC has been working with leading pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology companies as well as government and academic research organizations. Select customers include Abgenix, Applied Biosystems, Celera Genomics, Gene Logic, Rogers Medical Intelligence Solutions, Quest Diagnostics, and the University of Buffalo Center of Excellence for Bioinformatics. EMC solutions help life sciences companies manage, share and protect the enormous amount of information resulting from the mapping of the human genome.