Frontiers of Science lecture series Frontiers of Science The COLLEGE OF SCIENCE and THE COLLEGE OF MINES AND EARTH SCIENCES have teamed-up to present FOUR lectures during the 2006-2007 academic year! The 2006-2007 Frontiers lecture series will feature eminent scientists and researchers from across the country who are exploring the latest frontiers in their fields. The Frontiers lecture series was established in 1967, and will celebrate its 40th year in 2007, making it the longest-running lecture series on campus! Over the years, we have hosted many Nobel laureates, Guggenheim Fellows, MacArthur Fellows, and members of the National Academies. Free and open to the public! All lectures begin 7:30 p.m. in the Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology building (lower campus, near University Bookstore) The first lecture is Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006. This lecture features James P. Keener, distinguished professor of mathematics at the U, who will discuss "Heart Attacks Can Give You Mathematics" Heart attacks kill hundreds of people daily in the United States; many more than are killed by math anxiety! A heart attack is fatal when there is a subsequent disruption of the normal electrical signal of the heart, leading to fibrillation. There is very little understanding of why this occurs, and there are essentially no reliable predictors for the onset of fibrillation. Professor Keener will give an overview of some of the ways that mathematics can help our understanding of cardiac arrhythmias, how they occur, what they are, and how they might be eliminated or even prevented. The main emphasis will be on how mathematics can be used to give us insights into biological problems that could not otherwise be found. The second presentation will take place on Wednesday, January 31, 2007. This event will feature Matthew P. Golombek, NASA senior research scientist in Pasadena, California. His lecture title is "Mars Exploration Results: Climate Change from Wet to Dry" Dr. Golombek is a research geologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena. He is also a science operations team chair on NASAs twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, currently exploring the Red Planet and led the team that selected the landing sites for these missions. Golombek has lectured about Mars internationally and co-wrote the book Mars: Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet for the National Geographic Society. He has served as editor and associate editor of professional journals, has convened scientific sessions at national and international meetings, and has served on numerous NASA science advisory groups. The third Frontiers of Science lecture is on Wed, March 28, 2007. This event will feature Kerry A. Emanuel, professor of meteorology at MIT. His presentation, "Divine Wind: The History and Science of Hurricanes," will address the historical importance of hurricanes, and focus on the current state of scientific research. "Imagine standing at the center of a Roman coliseum that is 20 miles across, with walls that soar 10 miles into the sky, towering walls with cascades of ice crystals falling along its brilliantly white surface. That's what it's like to stand in the eye of a hurricane." --excerpt from Divine Wind In his latest bestseller, Divine Wind, Kerry Emanuel, one of the world's leading authorities on hurricanes, gives an engaging account of these awe-inspiring meteorological events, revealing how hurricanes and typhoons have literally altered human history, thwarted military incursions and changed the course of explorations. Offering an account of the physics of the tropical atmosphere, the author explains how such benign climates give rise to the most powerful storms in the world and tells what modern science has learned about them. Kerry Emanuel has been chosen as one of TIME Magazine's '100 People Who Shape Our World.' The book, Divine Wind was named One of the Top Twenty Science Books of 2005 by Discover Magazine. The fourth and final Frontiers of Science lecture is on April 18, 2007, 7:30 PM, presented by Lucy Shapiro, professor of developmental biology at Stanford University. Her lecture title poses a very serious question for researchers and the general public-- "Why Are Bacteria Winning the Antibiotics War?" "Since antibiotics were discovered in the 1950s, they have been over-used. Bacterial cells are smarter than scientists and find ways to build up resistance to current antibiotics. While many antibiotics still function today, the rate at which they are becoming useless is faster than the rate that we are discovering new ones. Furthermore, there is an increase in prevalent infectious diseases, due to overpopulation, globalisation and urbanisation. This results in a lethal combination of emerging diseases and loss of our effective antibiotics. We are rapidly reaching a critical stage," says Shapiro. All Frontiers of Science lectures are videotaped! To obtain a video or DVD, please contact James DeGooyer, (801) 581-6958 at the College of Science. Mark your calendar now for these lectures! Watch your mailbox for our direct mailers. If you would like to be added to our mailing list, contact James DeGooyer, (801) 581-6958 at the College of Science. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com