Continuing Washington University’s yearlong Sesquicentennial Environmental Initiative, the final set of colloquia will cover significant issues such as tackling childhood lead poisoning, building a sustainable environment in plant sciences, understanding the effect of aerosols in our air; creating ecological and economically viable structures; and understanding how research universities can impact environmental education and public policy.
Childhood Lead Poisoning Colloquium
This colloquium will be divided into two sessions. The first, a presentation by Herbert L. Needleman, professor of child psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh. will begin at 9 a.m. in Clopton Auditorium, Wohl Clinic Building on the Medical campus.
The second session will be held from 2 – 4 p.m. in the Bryan Cave Courtroom, Anheuser-Busch Hall on the Hilltop campus. Joining Needleman will be two experts who will discuss “Bridging the Gap between Research and Policy: Childhood Lead Poisoning as a Case Study.” They are David E. Jacobs, director of the Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Neil T. Leifer, partner in the law firm of Thornton & Naumes, LLP, and an attorney specializing in lead poisoning litigation.
Plant Sciences Colloquium
The second colloquium will explore the subject of “Plant Sciences: The Environment and Sustainability,” on Thurs., Feb. 26. From 2 – 5 p.m. in the Laboratory Science Building, Room 300. Four eminent scientists will cover topics ranging from phytoremidiation, the inorganic carbon cycle, carbon sesquestration, the impact of genetically modified crops on the environment, and the issue of sustainability.
The first presenter will be Aaron Kaplan, professor of plant sciences at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and an expert in the field of photosynthetic aquatic microorganisms; Ganesh Kishore, vice president of technology for DuPont Agriculture and Nutrition; Francois M. M. Morel, professor of geosciences at Princeton University and director of its Environmental Institute, who has conducted extensive research in the new fields of bioinorganic and environmental chemistry; and Jerald L. Schnoor, the Allen S. Henry Chair of Engineering and co-director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at the University of Iowa.
Aerosols and Air Quality Colloquium
For the “Research on Aerosols and Air Quality: Impact on Nanotechnology to Global Climate” Colloquium, to be held at 3 p.m. on Tues., March 2 in the Laboratory Science Building, Room 300, there will be three distinguished scientists giving presentations in their areas of specialization. They include: Sheldon K. Friedlander, the Parsons Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of California at Los Angeles, who will lecture on “Aerosol Science Engineering: The Enabling Discipline; ” Jonathan Samet, professor and chairman of the department of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, whose talk will be on “Aerosols and Health Effects;” and John S. Seinfeld, the Louis E. Nohl Professor and professor of chemical engineering at the California Institute of Technology, who will deliver the third talk on “Aerosols and Global Climate.”
The Sustainable University Colloquium
The day-long event featuring architects, engineers, university facilities administrators and landscape architects will focus on ways in which universities can become more ecologically and energy conscious. These talks will be announced as times and sites become established. The keynote address will be given by acclaimed architect William McDonough, considered by many a pioneer in creating ecologically, socially and economically viable buildings. McDonough’s talk will be held at 1 p.m. on Tues., March 30 in Steinberg Hall Auditorium.
Distinguished professionals joining McDonough in the discussion will include: Mark Rylander, of William McDonough and Partners; Keith McPeters, from Laurie Olin Associates; Alastair Guthrie, Arup Associates; and Mark Rosenbaum, of Energysmith Environmental Design Consultants. Moderating the panel will be Elizabeth Meyer, associate professor of landscape architecture at the University of Virginia; respondents will be Victoria Siranni, chief facilities officer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Washington University facility administrators.
Educational Practices and the Environment Colloquium
WUSTL’s Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton will moderate a panel that includes experts discussing various environmental education and research initiatives at leading research universities. Participants include Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University; David H. Marks, Morton and Claire Goulder Family Professor of Engineering Systems and Civil and Environmental Engineering, and director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Michael B. McElroy, Gilbert Butler Professor of Environmental Studies at Harvard University; and Franklin M. Orr Jr., Keleen and Carlton Beal Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Stanford University.
Assembly Series programs are free and open to the public. Please contact 314-935-5285 for more information on Assembly Series events, or check the Web site at wupa.wustl.edu/assembly. Information on the Environmental Initiative Colloquia featured throughout the spring 2004 semester is also available at the Washington University 150th celebration Web site: 150.wustl.edu