Hamilton's Science Center Dedication Includes Many Public Events

The dedication celebration of Hamilton College's new $56 million Science Center will include events beginning on Thursday, Sept. 29, and ending on Saturday, Oct. 1, many of which are free and open to the public. With the completion of the center, Hamilton College will have nearly doubled, from 106,000 to 192,000 square feet, the amount of space dedicated to science instruction. The new Science Center will host 56 offices, 48 teaching laboratories, 53 research laboratories, 67 support rooms and 11 high-tech classrooms to be used by the physics, biology, archaeology, chemistry, geosciences and psychology programs. The building was designed to encourage and highlight interdisciplinary work, especially in the areas of neuroscience, biochemistry and environmental studies.

The ribbon cutting and formal dedication of the Science Center at Hamilton College will take place on Friday, Sept. 30, at 5:30 p.m., and include a keynote address by U.S. House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., and the awarding of two honorary degrees to distinguished scientists. Other weekend activities will include a lecture by author Jared Diamond; a debate on stem cell research; a symposium on medical education for students and alumni in the health professions; and a science symposium featuring the honorary degree recipients and alumni scientists. The following events are free and open to the public:

Thursday, Sept. 29
8 p.m. in Wellin Hall
Jared Diamond - author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs and Steel
The James S. Plant Distinguished Scientist Speaker Series presents Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies and The New York Times bestseller Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Diamond will address issues such as why some societies thrive and prosper, while others shrivel and die and how communities can maximize the opportunity for human happiness, while saving the planet from ecological ruin and collapse.

Friday, Sept. 30
10 a.m. at the Science Center
Guided Tour of Science Center
Tours of the Science Center will be offered. Those interested should meet at the Science Center circle adjacent to the Field House. (Self-guided tour brochure will also be available in the lobby.)

1:30 p.m., Science Center G027 (auditorium)
"Stem Cell Therapy: The Science and the Controversy"
Hamilton parent Susan Bryant dean, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine; Robert Almeder, professor in philosophy, Georgia State University and The Alan McCullough Jr. Distinguished Visiting Professor of Philosophy at Hamilton College; Meg Pollak' 08 and Kathryn Hansen '07 will discuss stem cell therapies.

3 p.m. , Science Center G027, (auditorium)
"The Changing Faces of Medical Education"
Discussants include John Driscoll '58, chairman of pediatrics, Columbia University; Robin Kinnel, Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry; Leslie North, coordinator for health professions advising; Gavril W. Pasternak P'08, M.D. Ph.D., Anne Burnett Tandy Chair of Neurology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Professor of Neurology & Neuroscience, Pharmacology and Psychiatry Weill College of Medicine of Cornell University; and David Shaye '02, third year medical student, Albany Medical Center.

4:30 p.m. in the Science Center
Sigma Xi Reception and Posters Session
More than 60 Hamilton students will present the results of research conducted during the summer on campus, and Hamilton alumni in the sciences will present their current research in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society.

5:30 p.m. in the Science Center Atrium
Dedication Ceremony
The Science Center Dedication Ceremony will include a keynote address by U.S. Congressman and House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Jacqueline K. Barton, the Arthur and Marian Hanisch Memorial Professor of Chemistry, California Institute of Technology, and Ivan King '47, Research Professor of Astronomy, University of Washington.

Saturday, Oct. 1
9 a.m., Science Center G027 (auditorium)
Science Symposium: What frog eggs can teach us about cell division
Rebecca Heald '85, Associate Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California, Berkeley
       
9 a.m., Science Center G024
Science Symposium: Breaking New Ground in Computing Technology: A Liberal Arts Perspective
Bernardine Dias '98, Research Fellow, The Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University

9:45 a.m. Science Center G027 (auditorium)
Science Symposium: Now you see it, now you don't! Why?
Cathleen Moore '88, Associate Professor of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University

9:45 a.m. Science Center G024
Science Symposium: When Topology Meets Chemistry
Erica L. Flapan '77, Professor of Mathematics, Pomona College
Location SC G024  

10:30 a.m. Science Center G027 (auditorium)
Science Symposium: Through the Universe with the Hubble Space Telescope
Ivan King '47, Research Professor of Astronomy, University of Washington

11:30 a.m. Science Center G027 (auditorium)
Science Symposium: Forests, the global carbon cycle, and climatic disruption
Richard Houghton '65, Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center
Location SC G027

11:30 a.m. Science Center G024
Science Symposium: Exploration
Pinar O. Yilmaz '76, Coordinator, External Technology, Technology Organization, ExxonMobil Exploration Co.