The Smiling Heretic

Reg Kelly has an infectious smile that seems to be part childlike wonder and part wise guy. The fun, though, is in listening to Kelly talk. His words come in enthusiastic bursts, coated in a Scottish accent that makes everything he says seem just a tad more colorful. And what he says conveys just enough distaste for authority to give him what amounts to, in the bureaucratic world of academia, a bad-boy edge.
But when it's suggested to the head of California's Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, or QB3, that his charm might be what makes him so effective at raising money, negotiating deals with corporate partners, and circumventing institutional barriers, he is quick to correct. "It's not charm," Kelly says. "What it is, is the belief that this is worth doing. It's the passion. We have a very clear vision, and people like that."
QB3 is one of four California Institutes for Science and Innovation established in 2000 by then-Governor Gray Davis. Headquartered at the Mission Bay campus of the University of California, San Francisco, QB3 extends across three University...