Our daily life consists of a science invisible to the naked eye. Think of how molecules come together to form tiny machines within different parts of our bodies, like how the neural networks of our brains are a product of neurons coming together and sending digital signals with other bodily functions.

How do we model the forces of nature that we cannot see but that are indispensable to our everyday life?

Michael Savageau is a distinguished professor emeritus in microbiology and molecular genetics. His work examines the function, design and evolution of cellular and molecular networks. Savageau helped pioneer quantitative systems biology, where he characterized the design principles for gene circuits that impact cellular behavior.

While earning his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Stanford University in 1963, Savageau developed his interest in applying engineering principles and methodologies to biological systems. His work took flight in 1970 after joining the University of Michigan when Savageau used computers to create advanced models of biological systems and predict their behavior, helping to engender a new avenue of research.

He was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine in 2002. He joined UC Davis the following year to focus more on teaching and research. This career transition between campuses is reflected in the evolution of his work.

“We were first taking molecular components to go to a phenotype or an intact cellular system,” he said, “and now we're going from a cellular system to populations of those systems and asking how they might evolve.”

Savageau produced a rigorous definition of what the observable properties and behaviors of an organism, known as phenotypes, are for a biological system, making it possible to trace the determinants of a phenotype back to the genetics and the environment.

“This mapping gave us the fact that there's a finite number of phenotypes for any given system,” Savageau said. “You could begin to talk about a distribution of those phenotypes in an environment and make testable predictions about the population.”

The field of systems biology has since grown exponentially, as alumni around the world can attest. The Savageau Lab represents a global community with partners across the United States, Mexico and Portugal continuing to research new areas of microbiology.

“Even though I was in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, I had students who came from very different backgrounds,” he said, including students intrigued about the burgeoning biotech industry.

“Davis didn't have a rigid view of things,” Savageau said. “It was like, wherever a good student comes from, we're going to look at them.”

Savageau retired during the pandemic and regrets not being able to work with today’s “marvelous” Aggies, reflecting a deeper connection to the university.

“The chance to come here and come back to the Northern California area, it was a great opportunity,” he said, “and I've never regretted it.”