Scientific Challenges in Sustainable Energy Technology

Nathan Lewis is Professor of Chemistry and the Principal Investigator of the Beckman Institute Molecular Materials Resource Center at Caltech. His research interests include light-induced electron transfer reactions, photochemistry of semiconductor/liquid interfaces, novel uses of conducting organic polymers and polymer/conductor composites, and development of sensor arrays that use pattern recognition algorithms to identify odorants, mimicking the mammalian olfaction process. In honor of the 20th Annual Jacob Bigeleisen Endowed Lecture, Prof. Lewis will also speak on "Progress and Challenges in Solar Energy Conversion Using Semiconductor/Liquid Junctions" at noon on October 23 in the Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Building, Room 412. Read an abstract »

Thursday, October 23, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Student Activities Center Auditorium

Compassion: Human and Animal

Martha Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics, appointed in the Philosophy Department, Law School, and Divinity School, University of Chicago. She is the founder and coordinator of the Center for Comparative Constitutionalism and co-director of the Center for Laws, Philosophy, and Human Values. She has chaired the Committee on International Cooperation, the Committee on the Status of Women of the American Philosophical Association, and the Committee for Public Philosophy. Her latest publications include Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America's Tradition of Religious Equality and Compassion and Capabilities. For more information, visit www.stonybrook.edu/trust. Photo credit: Robin Holland

Monday, October 27, 2008, 4:30 p.m.
Humanities Institute, Room 1006

The President's Office and the Office of the Provost present the
10th Annual George Goodman Memorial Symposium

Depression, Too, Is A Thing With Feathers

Andrew Solomon's most recent book, The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, has won fourteen national awards, including the 2001 National Book Award. He will speak on the nature of depression, drawing on personal experience, on interviews with others afflicted with the illness, and on the scientific literature. In order to break down the idea of depression as a modern, Western, middle-class illness, he will examine depression across history, across cultures, and across the class spectrum and identify the qualities that allow some people to have worthwhile lives despite episodes of depression while others are defeated by the illness. Book signing/reception to follow. Co-sponsor: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Oct. 10 is National Depression Screening Day.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Student Activities Center Auditorium

The U.S. and the Muslim World: What the Next President Should Know

John L. Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs, Professor of Islamic Studies, and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. A consultant to the Department of State, corporations, universities, and the media worldwide, Esposito specializes in Islam, political Islam, and the impact of Islamic movements from North Africa to Southeast Asia. He has served as President of the Middle East Studies Association of North America and the American Council for the Study of Islamic Societies, and is a member of the World Economic Forum's Council of 100 Leaders.

Thursday, October 30, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Student Activities Center, Ballroom B

How Our Constitutional Conscience Can Save Us From Ourselves

Eric Lane is the Eric J. Schmertz Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Public Service at Hofstra University School of Law. He is the coauthor with Michael Oreskes, managing editor for U.S. news for the Associated Press, of The Genius of America: How the Constitution Saved the Country and Why It Can Again and two additional books with the Honorable Abner J. Mikva, The Legislative Process and An Introduction to Statutory Interpretation and Legislative Process. Both are law school texts. He is also the author of a number of articles on governmental decision-making. Presently, Professor Lane is the Senior Fellow at the Brennan Center of Justice and the NYU School of Law.

Thursday, November 13, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Student Activities Center Auditorium