Dr. Rob Edwards has accepted an invitation to be a 2011 Kavli Frontiers Fellow from the National Academy of Sciences. Rob was nominated by existing fellows because of his research cross-cutting work at the interface of computer science and biology. It is an exciting opportunity for him to meet and exchange ideas with brilliant young scientists from around the world. Rob is looking forward to participating in the Kavili Frontiers of Science Program, as it will allow him to explore cutting edge science across a wide range of disciplines, and let him learn how to contribute to the advancement of science in a range of areas.
Rob also received tenure this year. Rob applies computer science to answer interesting scientific questions, with a focus on biology. His NSF-funded research includes a project to unravel the role viruses play in affecting microbes that may cause disease, and a project with colleagues in biology to discovering the functions of completely unknown genes. His research group has a range of scientists, including undergraduate students, masters students, PhD students, and post-doctoral research fellows. Recently, Rob received a grant from the Department of Education to enable US-Brazil partnerships, and took a team of SDSU students and researchers on an expedition to the coral reefs off the coast of Brazil. During the expedition Rob used computer science tools to explore the changes that are happening on corals. We would like to give Rob our congratulations and wish him continued success in the future