Editorial
UH cloner deserving of prestigious honor

Ryuzo Yanagimachi, the University of Hawai'i professor who pioneered mouse-cloning research, was characteristically humble when he was informed of his high honor Tuesday.

Yanagimachi, who was in Israel for an international science meeting, had just learned he had been elected to the National Academy of Science.

"More people are more deserving than me," he said.

We couldn't disagree more. It was Yanagimachi, more than any other single person, who put UH on the high-tech map when it seemed just about everyone else in town was bent on seeing the university suffer a death by a thousand cuts.

The lifetime membership into the 138-year-old academy recognizes "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research."

That certainly fits Yanagimachi, who made international headlines in 1998 when his research team cloned three generations of mice.

"I am proud that I did almost all of my work at the University of Hawai'i," said Yanagimachi, who came here 35 years ago. So are we, although at times it must have been like working with one hand tied behind his back. It wasn't until his discovery was trumpeted worldwide that UH moved his lab out of a decrepit Auxiliary Services building into a building of its own. Yet he turned down fat offers from prestigious universities worldwide to stay at UH.

Surely Yanagimachi is as deserving of his high honor as we are honored by his presence.