A modern-day reenactment of the mythical Greek inventor Daedalus' flight across the sea will be the topic of the first lecture in the Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) Lecture Program. Titled "Daedalus Revisited: Designing, Building and Flying a Human-Powered Aircraft over the Sea of Crete," the talk will be presented Tuesday, April 7, at 4 p.m. in Luce Hall Auditorium, 34 Hillhouse Ave. Following the lecture, a reception will be held in the Luce Hall common room.
The Gatorade Co. recently awarded a grant to Yale to underwrite the GSSI Lecture Program and summer internship positions for undergraduate students for the next three years. In addition to showcasing Yale scientists, the public lecture series will bring to campus nationally known scientists who will give talks intended to stimulate the imagination of science and nonscience students, faculty and guests.
"The Gatorade Company is excited about this opportunity to work together with a university of Yale's stature and reputation in efforts that further the long-term educational goals of both Yale and the Gatorade Sports Science Institute," says Susan D. Wellington, chief executive officer of The Gartorade Co.-North America, which is sponsoring two GSSI lectures at Yale each year during the next three years. "This program is the first Gatorade partnership with Yale, and we believe it could become a model for similar partnerships nationwide designed to enhance educational curricula."
The first Gatorade Lecture will be presented by Ethan R. Nadel, professor of cellular & molecular physiology at the School of Medicine, who participated in planning a world-record human-powered flight in 1988. The Project Daedalus flight followed a 74-mile route between the Greek islands of Crete and Santorini, a route used by the ancient Minoans in the third millennium B.C. Nadel, who is a specialist on the problem of fatigue during aerobic exercise, helped develop a training diet and flight regimen to prevent dehydration and boost the pilot's energy during the physically demanding flight.
Nadel, who also is director of the Yale-affiliated John B. Pierce Laboratory and professor of epidemiology at Yale, recently conducted a five-year study of whether exercise can postpone the effects of aging, which was funded by the National Institute on Aging. The goal was not to determine if exercise extends life spans, Nadel says, but whether it improves quality of life during a person's final two or three decades. He also has studied physiological adaptations to environmental challenges.
The Gatorade Student Internship Program will support seven Yale College students each year with stipends of $5,000 for eight weeks. The internships are intended to broaden the students' experience in business, industrial or research laboratory settings either at Yale, at The Gatorade Company facilities in Chicago or Barrington, Illinois, or in other comparable research laboratory, industrial, public service or business settings approved by the oversight committee. This year's fellowship winners will be announced at the April 7 lecture.
The Gatorade lecture and internship programs will be overseen by a committee composed of faculty from the department of molecular, cellular and developmental biology; the department of cellular and molecular physiology; the John B. Pierce Laboratory; and Yale College.
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