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There will be four more seminars this semester
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.
There are three focus areas for the seminar series: bioengineering and biomedicine, biotechnology and biochemistry, and biodiversity and environmental science. A number of prominent researchers in these fields have come to campus last semester and during the beginning of this semester. Four more speakers will present lectures this semester.
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 the research they and their students are doing here at Lafayette. The series is sponsored by the Fund for Faculty Innovation from the Office of the Provost.
Previous lecturers and their topics are: Jennifer H. Elisseeff, associate professor of biomedical engineering at Johns Hopkins University, “Engineering repair: from biomaterials to stem cells”; Daniel I.C. Wang, professor of chemical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Biotechnology of Mammalian Cells: Present Status and Future Perspectives”; Lauren S. Sefcik, department of biomedical engineering at University of Virginia, “Strategies for Therapeutic Neovascularization and Bone Repair”; Robert Mason, professor of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut, “Mercury in the Coastal Zone: An Important Source of Methylmercury to Ocean Fish”; Brian J. Kirby, director of the Micro/Nanofluidics Laboratory in the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, “Electromechanical coupling in microfabricated and tissue-engineered systems”; Bob Blankenship, Lucille P. Markey Distinguished Professor of Biology and Chemistry at Washington University, “The evolutionary invention of oxygenic photosynthesis and how it changed the world”; Michael W. Plesniak, Eugene Kleiner Professor for Innovation in Mechanical Engineering at Polytechnic University, “Biomedical Fluid Dynamics: From Phonation to Cardiovascular Flows”; and Rebecca Robinson, assistant research professor at The University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography, “Lessons from the Oceans of the Last Ice Age: Nutrients and Biology at the Ice Edge.”
Remaining Fall Schedule
“Human pheromones and body scents: Effects on Emotions, Sexuality, and Fertility”
Martha R. McClintock – 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25 in Oechsle Hall, Room 224
McClintock is the David Lee Shillinglaw Distinguished Service Professor in the psychology department at University of Chicago. She is also the director of the Institute for Mind and Biology located at University of Chicago.
“Coupling of Adsorption and Transport in Protein Chromatography”
Abraham M. Lenhoff – 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 in Oechsle Hall, Room 224
Lenhoff is Gore Professor as well as director of the National Institutes of Health Center for Excellence in Membrane Protein Production and Characterization at University of Delaware.
“The ribosome as a biochemical target for the discovery of novel antibacterials”
Richard R. Gontarek – Noon Friday, Nov. 9 in Hugel Science Center, Room 103
Gontarek is the associate director of the department of enzymology and mechanistic pharmacology for Glaxo SmithKline Pharmaceuticals.
“Plant Natural Products and Human Health”
Ilya Raskin – Noon Thursday, Nov. 15 in Hugel Science Center, Room 103
Raskin is a professor of plant science at the Biotech Center at Rutgers University.