Tsien Among Nobel Laureates to Visit White House

Debra Kain | December 1, 2008

Roger Tsien, a UCSD professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry, was among three of this year's American Nobel Prize winners to accept the invitation by the Swedish ambassador to the United States to visit Washington, D.C. Wednesday. Tsien, along with Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, and Martin Chalfie, co-recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, took part in a panel discussion that was held before a large audience at the Alfred Nobel Hall.  

After the event, the laureates and family members were invited to meet President George W. Bush at the White House for a photo opportunity, followed by a tour of the White House.  A black-tie dinner in honor of the three Nobel Laureates was held at the Swedish Embassy that evening.
 
Tsien will share the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and Boston University School of Medicine, and Martin Chalfie of Columbia University in New York.  The three scientists were recognized for the discovery of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and seminal work to design and create fluorescent molecules that enter cells and light up their inner workings.  They will be honored at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden on December 10.