This timeline highlights the dates of many important scientific breakthroughs, as well as
many of the key points in GRC's history.
1990
The first conferences are held outside the United States in Volterra, Italy.
The Human Genome Project is launched and later completed in 2003.
1991
Conferences are held in Germany.
1992
Conferences are held in Hawaii.
The FDA approves the use of Taxol (paclitaxel), a low-toxicity chemotherapy drug identical to a compound found in the bark of the Pacific yew tree, for the treatment of ovarian cancer.
1993
Carlyle B. Storm is appointed director after Cruickshank retires; The Alexander M. Cruickshank Lectures are established to showcase leadership in biology, chemistry, and physics.
1994
Public access to the World Wide Web through dial-up services becomes available.
1995
Conferences are held in Switzerland.
Paul J. Crutzen, Mario J. Molina, and F. Sherwood Rowland are awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work in understanding the formation and decomposition of ozone.
1996
Conferences are held in England, the Czech Republic, and Japan.
1997
GRC celebrates its 1947 move to New England with the publication of Gordon Research Conferences: 50 Years in New Hampshire. A special council meeting is held on 8 August at the Ramada Logan Hotel in Boston.
Conferences are held in France.
Half the Nobel Prize in chemistry is awarded to Paul D. Boyer and John E. Walker for understanding the mechanism and structure of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the principal carrier of chemical energy in the body. The other half is awarded to Jens C. Skou for the discovery of the enzyme sodium-potassium-stimulated ATP (Na+/K+ ATPase), which maintains the balance of sodium and potassium ions in living cells.
1998
Conferences are held in China.
James Thomson's team at the University of Wisconsin at Madison succeeds in isolating and culturing human embryonic stem cells for the first time.
1999
Conferences held in Connecticut and Singapore.
2001
Conferences are held in Massachusetts.
The first nanocircuits are developed by wiring together single-molecule transistors.
2002
GRC moves into independent headquarters in West Kingston, Rhode Island.
Conferences are held in Maine.
A number of research studies show that "small RNAs" control gene behavior.
2003
Nancy Ryan Gray is appointed director after Storm retires; The Carl Storm Fellowships are established to support increasing diversity among conference participants.
Conferences are held in Montana.
Avastin becomes the first antiangiogenesis drug shown in large-scale clinical trials to prolong survival in cancer patients.
2004
Researchers at Stanford and the University of California at Berkeley create the first integrated silicon circuit that successfully incorporates carbon nanotubes.
2005
GRC produces the History and Evolution of the Gordon Research Conferences poster.
The Huygens probe lands on Saturn's moon Titan.
2006
146 conferences are held at 17 sites in the United States, and 36 conferences are held at 6 sites overseas.
GRC celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary, launches the Frontiers of Science web site, and distributes Reflections from the Frontiers.