New Vistas SeriesDistinguished researchers in conversation with emerging science stars

Past Events with Multimedia

May 7, 2008
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Chromosome Ends: Life and Disease
Host: Elizabeth Blackburn, University of California, San Francisco
Speakers: Elissa Epel, University of California, San Francisco; and Mary Armanios, Johns Hopkins University
One of the world's leading experts in telomere and telomerase research hosts an evening with two up-and-coming researchers working to connect basic knowledge of telomere biology with clinical conditions.
Mar 11, 2008
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Little Machines Made of RNA
Host: Thomas Cech, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Speakers: Jennifer Doudna, UC Berkeley; and Robert Batey, University of Colorado
Howard Hughes Medical Institute President Thomas Cech received the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry in recognition of his discovery that RNA is not only important in gene expression but can also catalyze reactions in the cell. He was joined by two researchers who can trace their interests to work in his lab. They are revealing some unexpected activities of specialized classes of RNA molecules.
Jan 17, 2008
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Living in the Nano-World
Host: Mildred Dresselhaus, MIT
Speakers: Jin Kong, MIT; and Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, Columbia University & MIT
Carbon is one of nature's most versatile elements, and scientists can now combine atoms into structures and characterize their shapes at the tiniest of scales. As National Medal of Science-winner Mildred Dresselhaus and her colleagues explained, one-molecule-thick sheets of carbon called graphene and rolled-up structures called carbon nanotubes have many unique properties, and potential applications in electronics and other fields.
May 2, 2007
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Expanding Frontiers of Physics and Cosmology
Host: Frank Wilczek, Johnstone Family Professor, Department of Psychology, Harvard University
Speakers: Max Tegmark, Associate Professor of Physics, MIT; Nima Arkani-Hamed, Professor of Physics, Harvard University
Recent advances in physics and cosmology have given scientists a much clearer view of how the universe works and how it started, and are beginning to provide answers to such questions as whether the various fundamental laws reflect a deeper unity. Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek explained why answers may become clearer as the Large Hadron Collider nears completion and a new generation of astronomical probes matures.
Apr 18, 2007
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Brain Science: New Syntheses
Host: Steven J. Pinker, Harvard University
Speakers: Bruce Lahn, University of Chicago; Rebecca Saxe, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Steven Pinker, the Johnstone Family Professor in the Department of Psychology at Harvard University and author of several books including The Language Instinct, How the Mind Works, and The Blank Slate, moderated a discussion with two researchers who are exploring how the physiology of the brain gives rise to our experience of mind.
Jan 24, 2007
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Systems Biology: A New Integrative Science for the 21st Century
Host: David Botstein, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton University
Speakers: Saeed Tavazoie, Princeton University; Michael Elowitz, California Institute of Technology
David Botstein, director of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University and a pioneer in the development of methods for genetic mapping that made the Human Genome Project possible, moderated a discussion with two leaders in the growing field of systems biology.
Nov 29, 2006
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
New Science in New York
Host: Paul Nurse, President, Rockefeller University
Speakers: Jennifer Zallen, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Sean Brady, Rockefeller University
New York is not only a great city for culture and commerce, but for science as well. Nobel laureate Paul Nurse makes his home here, and hosted an evening featuring two dynamic young researchers at NYC institutions who are doing groundbreaking work.
The New York Academy of Sciences