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.