SAN DIEGO--- San Diego Science Festival Receives More than $500K in Generous Contributions from Area's Leading Biotechnology and

"In these difficult economic times, it's more important than ever for innovation-based companies to invest in our next generation of researchers, scientists and engineers," said Hank Nordhoff, chairman and chief executive officer of Gen-Probe, a leading molecular diagnostics company based in San Diego. "Gen-Probe is happy to do our small part by supporting the first San Diego Science Festival."

Gen-Probe is one of many San Diego County biotechnology and technology companies, research institutions, private foundations and donors that have generously donated more than a half-million dollars to help fund the West Coast's largest science event. These donors have recognized the need for better education in math and science and are dedicated to encouraging the nation's youth to pursue careers focused in science, research and mathematics. The San Diego Science Festival begins in March 2009 with on-site outreach at high schools, hundreds of hands-on programs of interest to the whole family throughout the month and hands-on science and technology-related booths and performances during Expo Day in Balboa Park on April 4

"To put on an event the size of the San Diego Science Festival, featuring more than 500 free events, we are truly dependent on forward-thinking and generous companies, private foundations and donors to invest in future researchers and scientists," commented Larry Bock, life sciences entrepreneur and co-founder of the San Diego Science Festival. "The San Diego Science Festival is partnering with more than 125 collaborators-leading businesses and organizations in the community that wish to offer their guidance, financial support and time to help teach the scientific leaders of tomorrow."

"Both Qualcomm and its employees, scientists at Salk, as well as my wife Joan and myself are pleased to provide guidance and financial support to the San Diego Science Festival," said Irwin Jacobs, chairman of Qualcomm and of the Salk Institute. "Careers in science and engineering are truly exciting in that engineers and scientists continually explore new areas and develop new products with surprising payoffs for society. As the high technology and bioengineering fields expand in San Diego, the need for scientists and engineers continues to grow. More companies should strongly consider providing support to the Science Festival to ensure that large numbers of local students are able to participate in a great learning experience."

Bleak times: Despite what many leading economists are calling a global recession, the leading universities, research firms, businesses and civic leaders in San Diego are investing in their community's future through the San Diego Science Festival. These leaders know the students of today are the scientists and researchers of tomorrow. The majority of schools in California have seen their budgets drastically scaled down to a bare bones level, which is believed to be a leading cause of the state's low ranking in science education. Too many children are without the necessary resources to prosper.

A recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey for science and math proficiency suggests that our youth face a global challenge: out of 58 countries, American 15-year-old students rank 27th in science and 36th in math.

Peter Farrell, chairman and CEO of ResMed,adds,"Some background in science, preferably in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (so-called STEM) should be considered as vital an educational requirement as being able to read and write. To form a sound judgment about complex global problems, whether about economics, the environment, technology or industry, some background in STEM should be considered crucial. It is simply hard to conceive that anyone could make sensible decisions, let alone be an innovator or an entrepreneur, without a solid understanding of science and technology."

A realistic look: The performance of U.S. eighth graders in reading, science and mathematics ranks lower than two-thirds of other industrialized nations. In problem-solving skills, the United States ranks 29th out of 40 developed countries. More dramatically, the academic proficiency of the top fifth of U.S. students is equivalent to only the bottom fifth of students in Singapore, illustrating our nation's plight in producing the best and brightest. (Statistics detailed in the "Community Compass: Aligning Support to Improve K-12 Math & Science Education for Our Students," written by the San Diego Foundation.)

Despite California's world-class achievements in technology, engineering and research, the unspoken secret is that California's children are being left behind when compared to their peers. Based on surveys of states that participate in the National Center of Education Statistics-the "nation's report card"-California's fourth and eighth graders rank behind 42 states in mathematics and next to last in science. By supporting the inaugural San Diego Science Festival, San Diego County research institutes, universities and other organizations are poised to do their part in reversing these statistics.

The need for change:"Excellence in science educationis key to success for companies that rely on rapidly changing technology - such as Agilent - and also crucial to worldwide economic growth, global progress and continual improvement in quality of life," said Karen Lewis, executive director of Agilent Technologies Foundation. "Support for events like the San Diego Science Festival, which engage and inspire students, is one of the ways Agilentpartners with others to invest in everyone's future."

Larry Bock, serial entrepreneur and special limited partner of Lux Capital,joins Jeremy Babendure, Ph.D., director of BioBridge­-a hands-on science education initiative at UC San Diego-to take the lead in organizing the Festival. Other collaborators include the San Diego Science Alliance, Connect, BIOCOM, N.D.I.A. and more key organizations. The BioBridge program was founded by Babendure and UC San Diego's recent Nobel Prize winner and faculty member, Roger Tsien. Many of San Diego's top school districts have also partnered with the Festival, such as San Diego Unified School District, PowayUnified School District, Oceanside School District, San Dieguito Union High School District, Grossmont Union High School District and Sweetwater Union High School District.

Part of an international network of science festivals, the San Diego Science Festival has developed strategic partnerships with both the highly successful East Coast Cambridge Science Festival-a joint effort among a number of leading institutions, including MIT and Harvard-and long-running science festivals in England, Italy, India and Australia.

The advisory board of the San Diego Science Festival includes nine Nobel laureates, chief technology officers and other leaders from multinational firms, as well as world-renowned translational scientists and educational leaders.

The San Diego Science Festival is made possible by our generous corporate sponsors and private donors; sponsorships are still available:

· Larry and Diane Bock

· Agilent Technologies Foundation; Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc.; Legler Benbough Foundation; Biogen Idec Foundation; Farrell Family Foundation; Genentech; Gen-Probe Inc.; Illumina Inc.; Invitrogen Foundation; Lockheed Martin Corporation; QUALCOMM Inc.

· Vertex Pharmaceuticals; Celgene; Neurocrine Biosciences; WuXi PharmaTech; Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation; Avalon Ventures; Think Blue; Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company Inc.; Oceans and Beyond Educational Foundation (Kimmich Family); BioBridge; Nanosys & Cenco Physics

· Merck Research Laboratories; Accelrys Inc.; Amgen Inc.; BIOCOM Institute; General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation

· Howard C. Birndorf; Lux Capital; Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc.; Prometheus Therapeutics & Diagnostics; NuVasive Inc.; UC San Diego Extension; SEQUENOM; ScholarNexus; Cooley Godward Kronish LLP

· Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; Kent H. Landsberg Co.; Paperland (David Rhoads)

For more information about the 2009 San Diego Science Festival, including event details, corporate sponsorship and individual giving opportunities, frequently asked questions, and comments from science community leaders, please visit sdsciencefestival.com.