This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
As part of the Interdisciplinary Seminar Series in the Life Sciences, biochemist Robert Blankenship will discuss how the appearance of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere influenced the history of life at noon Monday, March 26 in Hugel Science Center room 103.
Blankenship, the Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Washington University in St. Louis, will present the lecture, “The evolutionary invention of oxygenic photosynthesis and how it changed the world.”
According to Blankenship, the appearance of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere about 2.4 billion years ago, a by-product of oxygenic photosynthesis invented by primitive cyanobacteria, stands as one of the major events in the history of life on Earth. His research program and lecture focus on the mechanism of the energy-storing reactions in photosynthetic organisms, as well as understanding the origin and early evolution of photosynthesis.
Blankenship received his Ph.D. in chemistry from University of California, Berkeley, and was a post-doctorate fellow at U.C. Berkeley and the University of Washington. He has been a faculty member at the American University of Beirut, Amherst College, and Arizona State University. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published over 200 papers on various aspects of photosynthesis and has been a technical consultant for the National Geographic Society.
The Interdisciplinary Seminar Series in the Life Sciences has come about through the efforts of nine professors across six academic departments to help the Lafayette community gain a better understanding of the fundamental principles of research in biology, chemistry, engineering, and environmental science.
The series, which is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, will engage the campus community with current research topics in the life sciences and provide a venue for professional development in the life sciences for all Lafayette faculty through new research relationships.
As well as lecturing, invited speakers will meet with interested students and faculty. In these meetings, students will have the opportunity to discuss the science being presented and gain alternative perspectives on future careers in the field. Faculty will also have the opportunity to show the speakers first hand the research they and their students are doing here at Lafayette.
Previous series speakers: