Roger Penrose to Speak about
Science Computation, and the Mind
on October 28

Roger Penrose will present the Chinubhai G. Khatri Memorial Lecture, titled "Science, Computation, and the Mind" on October 28, 1999, at 4:00 p.m. in 105 Forum Building on the Penn State University Park campus. Penrose is the Emertius Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and the Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College in England, and the Francis and Helen Pentz Distinguished Professor of Physics and Mathematics at Penn State.

Penrose will discuss whether the methods of science, which have proved so successful in describing the physical behavior of the world, are competent to address the question of human consciousness. "There appears to be a profound mystery about how, under appropriate circumstances, a physical object such as a living human brain, can actually evoke conscious mentality," Penrose says. He will explore this and other related mysteries regarding the human mind, including its relationship to mathematics, quantum theory, and Einstein's theory of general relativity. He also will propose a specific experiment for testing the hypothesis that "there must be something in the physical actions of nature that is of a non-computable character," including human consciousness and understanding.

A member of the Penn State Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry, Penrose has written several influential books on the relationship between consciousness, computing, and physics, for which he won the Science Book Prize from the Royal Institution and the Science Museum in England.

Penrose is a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences; a Fellow of the British Royal Society, the University College in London, and Wadham College at Oxford University; an Honorary Fellow of St. John's College at Cambridge University in England; and an Honorary Fellow of Britain's Institute of Physics. He has earned numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the fields of physics, astrophysics, and mathematics, including the Adams Prize of Cambridge University; the Dannie Heineman Prize of the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics; the First Prize of the Gravity Research Foundation; the Eddington Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society; the Royal Medal of the Royal Society; the Wolf Foundation Prize for Physics; the Dirac Prize and Medal of the British Institute of Physics; the Einstein Prize and Medal of the Albert Einstein Society; and the Naylor Prize of the London Mathematical Society. Penrose has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his contributions to science.

The Chinubhai G. Khatri Memorial Lecture is organized by the Center for Multivariate Analysis in the Department of Statistics.

Bell Atlantic executive
to give Palmer lecture

Edward D. Young III, senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Bell Atlantic, will deliver the 1999 James R. and Barbara Palmer Chair Lecture in Telecommunications Studies at
4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, in the Carnegie Cinema at University Park.

Young is in charge of the legal and regulatory matters at the Federal Communications Commission and is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the new Telecommunications Act, which will deregulate telecommunications services throughout the country.

Before Bell Atlantic's merger with NYNEX, Young was the company's chief public policy officer, serving as vice president for external affairs and associate general counsel.

He became a leader in telecommunications regulation reform and most recently petitioned the FCC to refrain from regulating high-speed data services, the backbone of the Internet.

Gain stock market insight
from financial consultant

Learn how to answer two essential questions that will determine a stock's performance from successful financial consultant Gary Gray on Friday, Nov. 5, from 3-4 p.m. in the Foster Auditorium of the Paterno Library at University Park. Gray, a Penn State graduate, will discuss strategies to increase your market success in the free public lecture, "How to Value a Stock: Techniques of Wall Street's Top Money Managers."

Knowing the company's intrinsic value and if it is prepared to grow faster than its competitors are the two most important questions professional portfolio managers answer as they consider the risk of a stock purchase. Gray will demonstrate readily available ways to find this information, without employing advanced mathematics or complex technical analysis.

Gray is a former managing director of a major Wall Street investment bank and he consults regularly with investment and commercial banks. He is a visiting professor of finance at Penn State, and is co-author of Municipal Derivative Securities: Uses and Valuations and the Streetsmart Guide to Valuing a Stock, the first in a series by McGraw Hill on investments. He is the creator of a number of innovative financial products.

Lecture examines forest
policy for the new millennium

Catherine Mater, vice president for Mater Engineering, Ltd. in Corvallis, Ore., will present the next lecture in the School of Forest Resources' Distinguished Lecture Series on Thursday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in 104 Keller Building, University Park. Her talk is titled "Future Forests: Policy, Practices and Tools for the New Millennium."

For 50 years, Mater Engineering has been engaged in the design and engineering of wood processing facilities and technologies, as well as in the identification of market opportunities
for new product development. Their worldwide clientele includes key forestry and natural resources organizations, agencies and businesses.

Mater is currently president of the Oregon Foundation for Medical Excellence and is vice chair of the Oregon Board of Medical Examiners.

For more information, e-mail sos6@psu.edu or call (814) 863-7221.

Economics in sports topic of Erie talk

John Fizel, a nationally recognized expert in the economics of sports, will open the Provost's Speaker Series at Penn State Erie on Thursday, Nov. 4, with "Myths About Sports: The Role of Economics." His lecture, which is free to the public, will begin at noon in the Reed Union Building Lecture Hall.

Fizel, a professor of economics at Erie, is co-editor of Sports Economics: Current Research, published this year by Greenwood. He is also the co-editor of Baseball Economics: Current Research, published in 1996. Fizel also conducts research in applied microeconomic topics such as nursing home efficiency, oil market pricing, mutual fund performance and executive compensation.

Fizel is the winner of the 1999 Penn State Erie Council of Fellows Award for Excellence in Research. He has served as an economic consultant in Pennsylvania, Michigan and California.

Business lecture deals with taxing the rich

"The Economics of Taxing the Rich" will be the focus of the next installment in the Current Issues in Business lecture series at the Penn State Harrisburg Eastgate Center in downtown Harrisburg.

Presented by the college's School of Business Administration, the noon Nov. 9 presentation will feature Jean Harris, associate professor of accountancy, and Vedula Murti, assistant professor of economics. Harris will discuss distinguishing aspects of the rich in terms of taxpayer behavior and Murti will focus on the savings of the rich taxpayers and impact of savings on labor markets.

The presentation is free to the public. To register, contact the Eastgate Center at (717) 772-3590.

Explore career options at workshop

"It's Your Career! It's Your Future!" is the topic of an upcoming half-day workshop on Nov. 2 at University Park. Sponsored by the Human Resource Development Center, this professional development event will focus on employment at Penn State and changes and trends in the workplace.

Karen Leahy, a specialist in the Workforce Information Center with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, will present "Workforce 2005: Trends of the Future" at 1 p.m. which will highlight where the jobs are and how to explore your career options.

Other features of the event to be held at The Nittany Lion Inn will be discussion on University employment opportunities and roundtable discussion that will feature a resume review, interviewing skills, mentoring possibilities and more.

For more information about the program, call (814) 865-8216.

Gain tips on enhancing self-confidence at Nov. 17 talk

"Frozen Flowers and Floating Houses" with Barbara L. Jackson-Hall, director of alumni relations for The Smeal College of Business Administration, will be presented on Wednesday, Nov. 17, in 118 Agricultural Sciences and Industries Building at University Park.

The talk, sponsored by the Professional Women at Penn State, will focus on building a professional image that can enhance your self-confidence, self-worth and self-acceptance.

The brown-bag meeting begins at 11:50 a.m. The lecture is open to the public.

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Workshop set for Oct. 29

A Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Workshop, designed to improve people skills, will be conducted at Penn State Fayette Friday, Oct. 29, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Titled "Building Collaboration: Understanding Individual Differences" the workshop costs $65 ($55 if three or more participants come from one organization).

The fee covers instruction, materials, the MBTI instruments, lunch and refreshments. To register, call (724) 430-4210.

Part two of lecture at Abington is planned for Nov. 9

Penn State Abington's writer-in-residence, Rachel Simon, will present the second part of "Your Past is the Perfect Present" at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, in the Abington Sunrise Assisted and Independent Living Community, Brownstone Building. During this free seminar, Simon will tell participants how to write their personal histories.

For more information, call (215) 881-7368.