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March
24, 2003 |
NAE and Rensselaer to Host Symposium on
Biotechnology April 3
 The
National Academy of Engineering and Rensselaer are co-hosting
a “Symposium on Biotechnology” featuring some of the
biggest names in the field. The symposium is free and open to
the public. It begins at 2 p.m. on Thursday, April 3, in room
308 of the Darrin Communications Center.
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"The very fact
that a pre-eminent organization like the NAE requested Rensselaer
to organize the symposium speaks to Rensselaer's reputation
at the national level.”
—Daniel Berg—
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Serving as organizers for the event are Rensselaer
NAE members James Tien ’66, the Yamada Corporation Professor
of decision sciences and engineering systems, and professor of electrical,
computer, and systems engineering, and Daniel Berg, Institute Professor
of Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems and a professor in
the Lally School of Management and Technology.
“With input from our NAE colleagues in the
region, we have put together a very exciting and informative symposium
on a relevant topic — biotechnology. The breadth of issues
covered by the speakers will both educate those interested in
biotechnology and signal to the community Rensselaer's growing
leadership in the area,” said Tien. “Indeed, the very
fact that a pre-eminent organization like the NAE requested Rensselaer
to organize the symposium speaks to Rensselaer's reputation at
the national level,” added Berg.
Symposium Speakers
 Robert
Langer, the Kenneth J. Germeshausen Professor of Chemical and
Biomedical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
and a world-renowned expert on biomaterials, will speak on “Biomaterials
and How They Will Change Our Lives.” Forbes Magazine,
Bio World, and Discover Magazine have named
Langer as one of the 25 most important individuals in biotechnology
in the world. Langer has nearly 500 issued or pending patents
worldwide and has received more than 100 major awards.
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Daniel Hammer, professor and chair of bioengineering at the University
of Pennsylvania, will speak on “The Transition From Rolling to
Firm Adhesion in Leukocytes: A Model Biological Control System.”
Hammer’s specialty is cellular bioengineering and cell contact
phenomena. He has published more than 50 papers and has been an invited
speaker in international conferences.
Rosa
Lynn Pinkus, professor of medicine/neurosurgery and associate director
of bioethics and health law at the University of Pittsburgh, will lecture
on “Bioengineering Ethics: What IS It and Can You Teach It?”
Pinkus is lead author of the book Engineering Ethics: Balancing Cost,
Risk and Schedules — Lessons Learned from the Space Shuttle (Cambridge
University Press, 1997). She is an authority on bioengineering ethics.
Wolf
von Maltzahn, associate vice president for research and professor of
biomedical engineering at Rensselaer, will discuss “Biotechnology
at Rensselaer and in the Capital Region.” He was previously the
vice president of biomedical engineering at the Whitaker Foundation
and has conducted research for the National Science Foundation, National
Institutes of Health, American Health Association, and industry.