Sir Alan Langlands Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee described the accidental double billing as "a superb example of science and serendipity". He went on:
" To have one Nobel prizewinner in Dundee is a great honour but to have two independently on campus on the same day is a real measure of the global stature of the University of Dundee in the burgeoning life sciences - the science of the future."
Dundee's stake and role in that future will be highlighted at tomorrow's conference at the West Park Centre - "Biotechnology - Its Place in the UK Economy" which will be addressed by Sir James Black, one of a powerful line up of speakers.
Sir Alan Langlands: "The towering reputation of the Chancellor of the University, Sir James Black, whose discoveries led to two of the most widely used life saving drugs in the world, has inspired the analytical process of drug development and opens doors for Dundee internationally. We are also delighted to welcome the eminent biochemist Professor Arthur Kornberg from the University of Stanford, California, who won the 1959 Nobel Prize for his discovery of the enzymes which make DNA."
Professor Kornberg is in Dundee to deliver today's Peter Garland Lecture at the University's Wellcome Trust Biocentre.
Later this year the University expects a unique triple billing when the UK's top three cited scientists will be together at one of the graduation ceremonies. Most cited scientist, Professor Salvador Moncada of UCL's Institute for Biomedical Research will join numbers two and three - the University's own Professor Sir David Lane and Professor Sir Philip Cohen - at a ceremony at which Professor Moncada will be made an honorary graduate of Dundee.