Lectures
Penn State Intercom......February
8 , 2001
Challenges in genomics
topic of talk 
Ken Weiss, Evan Pugh professor of anthropology and genetics, will present a lecture titled "Reflections on a Golden Age: Challenge Amid Success in Human Ge-nomics" from 11 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m. Feb. 10 in 100 Thomas Building on the University Park campus.
His lecture is the fifth of six lectures during the 2001 Penn State Lectures on the Frontiers of Science, organized under the theme of "Decoding Life's Instruction Book: Genetics and Genomics."
While many scientists view the human genome as the blueprint from which reliable predictions can be made about our health and other aspects of our lives, biological complexities make such predictions a difficult and frustrating task. With his lecture, Weiss plans to outline the reasons for those difficulties and to address the challenges scientists face in making predictions from genes.
Physical science lectures
set for Feb. 14-16 
Albert Libchaber, the Detlev W. Bronk professor of physics at Rockefeller University, will present the 2001 Russell Marker Lectures in the Physical Sciences from Feb. 14-16 at University Park.
The schedule includes a lecture intended for a general audience, titled "What is Life? A Historical Perspective," at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, in 117 Osmond Laboratory. He also will present two specialized lectures -- "Control of Molecular Information, Algorithms in Biology" at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, and "Molecular Evolution in the Laboratory" at 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 16, both in 117 Osmond Laboratory.
The Marker Lectures were established in 1984 through a gift from the late Russell Earl Marker, professor emeritus of organic chemistry.
Marine biologist looks
at coastal biodiversity
Jane Lubchenco, professor of marine biology and distinguished professor of zoology at Oregon State University, will speak on "Coastal Biodiversity and Marine Reserves: A New Interface between Interdisciplinary Sciences and Policy" in the Life Sciences Consortium's Colloquium at 4 p.m. Feb. 13.
The colloquium will be video-conferenced from 101 Thomas Building to Lecture Room D at The Hershey Medical Center.
Lubchenco is a Pew Scholar in conservation and the environment, MacArthur Fellow and past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Ecological Society of America.
Lecturer to explore
'Small is Different' 
The annual Distinguished Materials Physics Lecturer Series will feature Uzi Landman, the Regents' and Institute professor of physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, in 117 Osmond Laboratory on the University Park campus.
He will present a lecture titled "Small is Different: From Electrons to Nanojets."
Landman, who also is director of the Center for Computational Materials Science and holder of the Fuller E. Callaway chair in Computational Materials Science at Georgia Tech, will discuss how the properties of materials sometimes change at small sizes, resulting in chemical and physical behavior that differs from that of the same materials at larger sizes. He will discuss the impact of shape on such properties and will outline how research on such issues might impact future technologies.
Process Education workshop
set for March 1
An interactive workshop focused on the development of quality learners through Process Education will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 1, in Ballrooms A and B of The Nittany Lion Inn on the University Park campus.
Process Education is an educational philosophy focused on improving students' learning skills. Dan Apple, founder and president of Pacific Crest, an educational consulting and publishing company, will present the workshop. Apple's background is in interdisciplinary problem-solving.
To register, call the Teaching and Learning Consortium at (814) 865-4442 or e-mail gdk10@psu.edu by Feb. 10. Lunch is included and a reception will follow at the Faculty/Staff Club. The event is open to all faculty. For more information, check the Web at http://www.pcrest.com.
Speaker to discuss
health-care rationing
Dr. Peter A. Ubel, associate professor of medicine at the University of Michigan and author of Pricing Life: Why It's Time for Health Care Rationing, will give the Fourth Annual Stanley P. Mayers Endowed Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 15, at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel, University Park.
A physician and bioethicist, Ubel is an internationally recognized speaker whose analysis of the need for health care rationing has implications for physicians, insurance companies and patients, as well as for the role of government. He says there is an appropriate role for cost-effective decision making in the provision of care by physicians, and that physicians should be trained to deal with the moral and ethical issues that will enable them to decide when, and how, to withhold care.
The lecture is free to the public. For registration, call (814) 863-5421 or e-mail ejk1@psu.edu