Nobel laureate to speak at SUU spring ceremony

Nobel Prize winner Mario Capecchi has lined up another spring graduation speech.

The University of Utah researcher will address a class of more than 1,300 students at Southern Utah University May 3, following a May 2 commencement speech at the U.

"I know our graduates and all those in attendance will be inspired by both his remarkable life and his notable contributions to science," said SUU President Michael Benson.

Capecchi, a graduate of Antioch College, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his work with gene modification in mice using embryonic stem cells. His most recent work is focused on discovering the genetic basis for neurological disorders.

As the keynote speaker for the 109th annual commencement exercises at SUU, Capecchi will address the students, along with their parents and friends, at 9 a.m. at the Centrum Arena on the Cedar City campus.