Dr. Michael Waterman is responsible for the introduction of some of the most important mathematical concepts, statistical models and computer algorithms used for genome analysis. He pioneered RNA secondary structure prediction, evolutionary tree comparison, gapped alignment, parametric alignment and other sequence analyses. He has recently released a new algorithm representing a remarkable improvement in the efficiency and accuracy of genome sequence assembly. He has trained many prominent computational genomicists and has been a prime mover in the development of the field.

Dr. Waterman graduated in mathematics from Oregon State University and obtained his Ph.D. from Michigan State. He has been a faculty member at Idaho State University and at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and since 1982 has been at the University of Southern California, where he is a Professor of Biological Sciences, Mathematics and Computer Science as well as a University Professor.