Noted Harvard scientist to deliver Silliman Lectures
Martin Karplus, a noted Harvard professor who specializes in theoretical chemistry and biochemistry, will present three lectures Jan. 19-21 on the topic "Proteins: The Fourth Dimension" as part of the Benjamin Silliman Memorial Lectures series. The lectures, which are free and open to the public, will be at 4 p.m. each day in Davies Auditorium in Becton Center, 15 Prospect St.
The individual topics and dates of his lectures are: "Dynamics and Function: An Overview," with film, on Monday, Jan. 19; "Protein Folding: From the Native to the Denatured State and Back Again" on Tuesday, Jan. 20; and "How Enzymes Work: Activation Energies and Dynamics" on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
Karplus is the author of more than 500 journal articles and book chapters, as well as two books that focus on developing theoretical methods for increasing our understanding of chemical problems. His paper on the theory of vicinal coupling is one of the most widely cited references in chemistry. One of the first chemists to perform quantum mechanical calculations on the ground and excited states of large molecules, he also did the first theoretical study at the atomic level of cooperativity in hemoglobin.
Established in 1901, the Silliman Memorial Lectures series is the oldest at Yale. It was established by a bequest from Augustus Ely Silliman of Brooklyn, New York, in honor of his mother, Hepsa Ely Silliman.
Fordham theologian to present annual More House Lecture
Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, professor of
theology at Fordham University, will deliver the annual More House Lecture on Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. at Saint Thomas More Chapel, 268 Park St.
In her talk, titled "The Communion of Saints: New Perspectives," Johnson will argue for rediscovering the Communion of Saints as a model for understanding the unity and variety of God's creation. Louis Dupré, the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of Religious Studies at Yale, will respond.
Johnson's work focuses on topics such as Mary, the Holy Spirit, Divine Providence, and the Living God. Her book "SHE WHO IS: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse" has been translated into four languages and has won many awards. Johnson has served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and as a member of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Women in Church and Society.
For more information about the lecture, call 777-5537.
Writer to discuss his experiences dealing with son's schizophrenia
"Fifty Psychiatrists Were Not Enough" is the title of a talk being given on Thursday, Jan. 22, by Peter Wyden, author of the new book "Conquering Schizophrenia," who has a son with the mental disorder. His talk, part of the CAMI Guest Lecture Series sponsored by the Yale Mental Health Education Program, will begin at 4 p.m. at the Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St. It is free and open to the public.
In his talk, Wyden will reconstruct the lessons he has learned from 25 years of personal experience dealing with the medical community about his son's schizophrenia. He will also discuss why he believes a schizophrenic patient urgently requires a family advocate to fill a variety of roles, for which his son's more than 50 psychiatrists and their staffs lacked the time or inclination, Wyden contends.
Wyden is formerly a writer for Newsweek and executive editor of Ladies Home Journal. For a decade he was the president of Peter Wyden Books, a publishing house specializing in books about psychology and medicine. His interest in mental issues goes back to 1947, when he wrote investigatory articles on what he described as the "snake pit" conditions of mental institutions in the state of Kansas. His book "Conquering Schizophrenia" is the story of how he guided his son, Jeffrey -- who became severely psychotic by his early 20s -- from despair to hope.
Shakuhachi master will be guest at college tea
Elizabeth Reian Bennett, a master on the Japanese bamboo flute known as the shakuhachi, will give an introduction to shakuhachi music and perform a concert on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. at the Jonathan Edwards College master's house, 70 High St. The event is free and open to the public.
Bennett, who earned her Ph.D. in Chinese art and history from Yale in 1983, is one of a small number of musicians in the world -- and one of few women -- who have mastered the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese five-holed instrument made from mandrake bamboo. After earning her doctorate at Yale, she received a grant from
the Japanese government to study the shakuhachi at the Kinko school. She is the only woman, and one of few Americans, to receive that honor. Now certified as a master player, she received the name Reian from the Kinko school in 1982; the name is part of her instructor's name and part of the founder of the Kinko school's name. She also was given the honor of wearing her teacher's family crest. Bennett has performed on the shakuhachi throughout the world.
Talk will explore how companies fare with respect to environment
Allen White, vice president of the Tellus Institute, a nonprofit consulting and research organization, will inaugurate this year's annual spring lecture series on business and the environment sponsored by the Yale Industrial Environmental Management (IEM) Program. The series is titled "How Do You Know if You're Going Green?
Measuring Corporate Environmental Performance."
White will discuss the state of the art in corporate environmental indicators in his talk "Green Metrics: Where We Are, Where We Need to Go" on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4:15 p.m. in Bowers Auditorium of Sage Hall, 205 Prospect St. A reception in the Sage Hall lounge will follow the free lecture, which is open to the public.
White heads the Tellus Institute's Risk Group. He specializes in environmental accounting, pollution prevention policy and economics, corporate environmental performance reporting and business-sustainability strategies. He has conducted studies and served as an adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state governments, private corporations, foundations and international organizations
The IEM spring lecture series of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies is supported by the Joel Omura Kurihara Fund. Kurihara, class of 1992, was committed to improving business and environmental relations, as well as advancing dialog on the topic.
Scholar's talks focus on environmental issues
Mark Sagoff, a senior research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy at the University of Maryland, will be the featured speaker at a campus seminar and will deliver a public lecture this week. On Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m., he will address the topic "Is the Environmental Crisis Over," as part of a seminar series on "Bioethics and Public Policy" sponsored jointly by Yale Hillel and the Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS). It will take place in the second-floor library, ISPS, 77 Prospect St. Later that day, at 7:30 p.m. he will lecture on the topic "The Rise of Civic Environmentalism: Local Problem Solving and National Politics" at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, 80 Wall St. A reception will follow. All of the events are free and open to the public.
Sagoff is president of the International Society for Environmental Ethic and is a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. He is the author of "The Economy of the Earth" and has published numerous articles in journals. A recent essay, titled "Do We Consume Too Much?" appeared in the June 1997 issue of Atlantic Monthly.
The talks are offered as part of the third Annual Forum Series on Bioethical Issues in Society. The forum is intended to afford faculty, students and members of the community the opportunity to consider timely topics in an informed manner. It focuses on ethical problems in the environment, medicine, genetics and other areas where advances in science create new dilemmas for society. For further information, call Yale Hillel at 432-1134.
Sheffield Lecturer will talk on 'The Golden Age of Electronics'
Joseph B. Costello, vice chair of Knowledge Universe Inc. and a leading developer of electronic design automation software, will present the next Faculty of Engineering Sheffield Fellowship Lecture at Yale. Titled "The Golden Age of Electronics," his talk will be held Monday, Jan. 26, at 4:30 p.m. in the Presidents' Room of Woolsey Hall, corner of Grove and College streets. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be followed by a reception at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St.
Costello, who holds a M.S. in physics from Yale, joined the education software company Knowledge Universe Inc. in 1997. He was president and chief executive officer of Cadence Design Systems Inc. dating back to the company's inception in 1988. Under his guidance, Cadence grew to be the world's leading supplier of electronic design automation software and services. In May of 1997, Costello was recognized as the top performing CEO in North America by Chief Executive magazine.
The Sheffield Fellowship was established in 1996 to honor the former Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, which offered engineering programs from 1852 until it became part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in the mid-1940s.
Consultant to discuss trends in biotechnology financing
Mark Edwards, managing director at Recombinant Capital Inc. (ReCap), a San Francisco-based consulting firm specializing in biotechnology business alliances, will speak on "Trends in Biotechnology Financing" on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 4:30-6:30 p.m. in Rm. B-79 of Watson Center, School of Management (SOM), 60 Sachem St. A panel discussion will follow his presentation, and refreshments will be served in the foyer 4-4:30 p.m.
The talk, which is the third in the Yale-New Haven Biotechnology Enterprise Forum series, is free and open to the public. The lecture series is sponsored by The Biotech Committee of Greater New Haven and the Office of Cooperative Research at Yale. It focuses on commercial development of biotechnology and is geared toward entrepreneurs and university scientists.
Edwards has more than 14 years of experience in business development and licensing of biotechnology products. His firm is retained by 15 pharmaceutical companites and more than 100 biotech and service companies to advise on biotech alliances and valuations.
Participants in the panel discussion are David M. Cromwell, an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at the SOM; Roger Longman, managing partner, Windhover Information Inc. in Norwalk, Connecticut; Michael I. Sherman, president and chief executive officer of Prostagen Inc.; and Elizabeth Silverman, a senior research analyst at BancAmerica Robertson Stephens.