A meeting “Ribosome Biogenesis and Nucleolar
Function” was held at Lake Tahoe, California, August
17–21, 2000, ably organized by Lasse Lindahl and
Janice Zengel (University of Maryland, Baltimore County),
together with Maurille Fournier (University of Massachusetts),
Craig Pikaard (Washington University), and John Woolford
(Carnegie-Mellon University). The meeting was noteworthy
in several respects. First, it occurred within only a few
days (on either side) of the publication of breathtaking
2.4–3.3 Å structures of the large and small
ribosomal subunits. Second, it addressed how this machine
is built in the cell to a greater extent than most previous
ribosome meetings. Third, the meeting congratulated Masayasu
Nomura for his important, and still continuing, contributions
to the ribosome field.