Susie P. Gonzalez

210-999-8406

susie.gonzalez@trinity.edu

Distinguished Women Scientists to Visit Trinity University

Aug. 5, 2003 – The birth and death of stars, accurate and distorted memory, and misfolded proteins are the diverse topics to be discussed by speakers in Trinity University’s 2003-04 Distinguished Scientists Lecture Series. The series will open Sept. 15 with Catherine Pilachowski, the Kirkwood Chair in Astronomy at Indiana University Bloomington, who will discuss how changes in the surface composition of stars aid the understanding of the interior of stars and stellar evolution.  On Jan. 26, Marcia Johnson, a Yale University professor of psychology, will examine the mechanisms of memory distortion and its effects on topics such as eyewitness testimony.  Susan Lindquist, director of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., will be on campus April 5 to cover how protein-folding mechanisms may cause deadly, infectious diseases, such as mad cow disease. Each lecture begins at 7:30 p.m. in Trinity’s Laurie Auditorium and is free to the public. Professor Pilachowski, president of the American Astronomical Society, will speak on “Giant Telescopes, Heavy Metal, and Ancient Superstars.”  She will explain that when stars evolve, nuclear processes in the stars’ interiors synthesize chemical elements, and these newly created elements appear in the stars’ outer layer where they can be observed.  These changes in the surface composition help scientists understand the interior of a star as well as the process of stellar evolution. Since the galaxy formed 14 billion years ago, there has been an increased amount of these chemical elements. Studies of these elements can give insight into the history of the galaxy and the first stars formed. Professor Pilachowski has served for more than 20 years on the scientific staff of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, along with various national and international boards and committees.  In 1997, she was honored with the Arthur Adel Award for Scientific Achievement from Northern Arizona University.  Currently, Professor Pilachowski is the Kirkwood Chair in Astronomy at Indiana University Bloomington and is president of the American Astronomical Society.  Professor Johnson will discuss “Memory and Reality” and how certain findings help scientists understand both accurate and distorted memory.  Distorted memory includes categories such as Alzheimer's disease and loss of memory for an eyewitness’ testimony.  Professor Johnson’s lab at Yale University has used neuroimaging to pinpoint regions in the brain that show memory process dysfunctions. Since 2000, Professor Johnson has been a professor of psychology at Yale University.  Prior to Yale, she was a professor for 15 years at Princeton University.  Professor Johnson has published more than 100 articles and book chapters, and she served as chair of the Governing Board of the Psychonomics Society and on the Governing Board of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.  She has been honored with a Guggenheim fellowship, the James McKeen Cattell Sabbatical Award, and a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. Professor Lindquist’s topic is “From Mad Cows to Nanoscale Technology.”  With her work on protein-folding mechanisms, Professor Lindquist has studied the effects on cellular stress response, deadly neurological diseases, new inheritance mechanisms, and the design of nanoscale devices.  She will explain how proteins must fold into an exact shape to function properly, but a few proteins, known as prions, sometimes fold incorrectly.  It is these prions, Professor Lindquist believes, that may cause mad cow disease or inheritable changes in cellular metabolism.  Before directing the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass., Professor Lindquist worked as a professor of medical sciences at the University of Chicago, and as an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.  She received a Ph.D. in biology at Harvard University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago until joining the university’s faculty in 1977.  She was awarded a place on Discover magazine’s 2002 list of top 50 women scientists. Doors to Laurie Auditorium will open at 6:30 p.m. on the day of each lecture.  The Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series is made possible by an endowment gift from Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown of San Antonio.  Mr. Brown is a Trinity University Trustee.

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Last updated on August 8, 2003 by the Office of Public Relations