http://chem.tufts.edu/faculty/kumar/index.html

http://chem.tufts.edu/

http://gs.as.tufts.edu/

Tufts University - Index

Tufts University - Arts and Sciences Case Statement Tufts University - Index

KRISHNA KUMAR
Professor of Chemistry
DuPont Young Professor Award, 2003–06
Named one of the Top 100 Young Innovators in the
World by MIT’s Technology Review magazine, 2003
Krishna Kumar’s teaching in organic chemistry, chemical biology, and
biophysics resides at the interface of chemistry and biology. His
research into enzymes and proteins examines how these “workhorses
of the body” evolved to their current efficiency and complexity. Another
research focus is designing proteins that fold inside membranes
enveloping cells, which will be useful in the development of new and
better antibiotics and the treatment of a diverse array of diseases like
diabetes and cancer.
“My graduate students are very talented and they inspire me every
day. And my colleagues are wonderful. Tufts is a small research institution,
and everyone involved in research here is working at the top of
their game.
“I have been affiliated with institutions in four different countries,
and have not seen a more talented bunch than my Tufts students—
both the graduate and undergraduate students. In every course, I learn
as much as I teach.”
10
ENHANCING
GRADUATE
EDUCATION: $16M
GRADUATE STUDENT
SUPPORT: $9M
GRADUATE STUDENT
FINANCIAL AID: $7M
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
collectively pushes the frontiers of knowledge.
Graduate students work with faculty
on theses that develop new and important
ideas and insights. Graduate students
assist faculty in their scholarship, and at
the same time are committed to Tufts
excellence in teaching. Our graduate students
bring a wealth of varied experiences
to Tufts and help to raise our academic
profile.
Yet we must shore up seriously underfunded
graduate education resources. We
often lose strong graduate school applicants
because we are not financially competitive.
We must strengthen and extend
our graduate program to ensure that it
enjoys the same prestige as the Tufts
undergraduate experience. We must be
committed to attracting the most talented
graduate applicants.
By investing in a graduate student
support fund and in financial aid, we can
attract those scholars who will ensure that
our graduate programs endure and thrive:
top graduate students play a key role in
attracting top faculty to an institution.
As teaching assistants and members of the
Tufts community, they enhance the quality
of undergraduate education. And many
graduate students, in turn, will someday
likely be faculty themselves. They are a
very real bridge between the present and
the future.