Pasadena : Caltech Scientists Get Grants

Caltech scientists Geoffrey Blake and Leroy Hood have received awards for research that total $1 million.

Blake, assistant professor of cosmochemistry, is among 20 in the nation to receive a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering. Blake will receive $90,000 a year for five years, and Caltech will receive an additional $10,000 a year for five years.

Blake’s work involves the study of the early evolution of stars and planetary systems.

The award, given by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation of Los Altos, Calif., is presented as unrestricted research money for outstanding young researchers. David Packard is founder and chairman of Hewlett-Packard Corp.

Hood, professor and chairman of Caltech’s Biology Division and a pioneer in the molecular biology of the immune system, received $500,000 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences. The money is to be used to study the genetic basis of T-cell receptors in the human immune system.