"Professor Marvin Edelman of the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) isan outstanding scientist by any standard. He has had a long and productivecareer at a premier research institute, and his service to the researchcommunity has been and continues to be tireless. Prof. Edelman haspublished more than 130 scientific papers and his research is widely sitedby the scientific community. He has chaired conferences, including the 2ndInternational Conference for Plant Molecular Biology. Prof. Edelman has hadtwo major foci to his research; plant molecular biology and bioinformatics.His research in plant molecular biology began during his Ph.D. studies,where he was the first individual to isolate chloroplast DNA. Followingthis work, he established his lab at the Weizmann Institute where he wasamong the first to map the chloroplast genome. Perhaps Prof. Edelman isbest known for his contributions on the structure and function ofphotosystem II. This novel work has provided key insights on regulation ofphotosynthesis. A decade ago when the field of bioinformatics was in itsinfancy, Prof. Edelman became a pioneer and leader in this importantdiscipline. Bioinfomatics involves the application of advanced informationtechnology to the international genome sequencing projects. Prof. Edelman'sservice in bioinformatics to the scientific community has been extensive.He was the founder of the European Molecular Biology Data Network inIsrael. To bring this field to others (especially in Eastern Europe andAsia), he founded and still heads the UNESCO International Center forCooperation in Bioinformatics. He is also the chair of the AdvisoryCommittee of the European Bioinformatics Institute. It is in recognition ofthese illustrious achievements that the University of Waterloo is honouredto bestow upon Prof. Marvin Edelman the degree Doctor of Science, Honoris causa."