February 12, 2007
Contact: Jana Smith
405.744.5827
jana.smith@okstate.edu
OSU Research Week (February 19-23, 2007)
100 Years of Research and Beyond
Stillwater, Okla.—OSU's fourth annual event dedicated to the arts, humanities and sciences kicks off with a proclamation issued by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry declaring February 19-23, 2007 as OSU Research Week. The event commemorates the many contributions of OSU research for more than 100 years in shaping this great state.
Ranga Komanduri, Regents Professor and A.H. Nelson, Jr. Endowed Chair in Engineering, OSU Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, will give the opening remarks on “Collaborative Research: The Right Way,” at 9 am on Monday, February 19 in the OSU Student Union, Case Study 2.
Komanduri will reveal how to develop successful collaborative research in a university environment. He will focus on the major role chemistry plays in the whole activity and the insignificant role money plays in most cases. And, he suggests that difficult problems can be dealt with by teams of collaborative researchers with different expertise. His talk is based on his own successful and not so successful ventures in this area over the past three decades. He'll describe the role that OSU can play in nurturing interdisciplinary research activities.
Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate in Physics 2004 and Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics, MIT, will give a public lecture on "The Universe is a Strange Place," on Tuesday, February 20 at 8:00 pm in the Student Union Theatre.
Over the course of the twentieth century Wilczek says we have constructed a very successful fundamental theory of the behavior of matter. Viewed from this perspective, the world looks very different from everyday reality. It is a very strange place and a beautiful one -- in particular, he says, we've come to understand that the building blocks of matter appear as notes in Music of the Void. He'll discuss some recent discoveries indicating that the world is even stranger than we've understood so far, and how we're rising to the challenge.
Wilczek is considered one of the world's most eminent theoretical physicists. He has received many prizes for his work in physics, including the Nobel Prize of 2004 for work he did as a graduate student at Princeton University, when he was only 21 years old. He is known, among other things, for the discovery of asymptotic freedom, the development of quantum chromodynamics, axions and the discovery and exploitation of new forms of quantum statistics (anyons). Following the lecture, Wilczek will sign his new book, Fantastic Realities: 49 Mind Journeys and A Trip to Stockholm.
Wilczek will also give the keynote address, “Frontiers of Science,” at the OSU Research Symposium scheduled from Wednesday, February 21 through Friday, February 23 in the Student Union. A record number of presentations—98 posters and 128 papers--will be given this year.
Abel Julio González, Senior Advisor, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Argentine Government, will give a public lecture on “The International Atomic Energy Agency: The Nobel Peace Prize 2005,” on Thursday, February 22 at 7:30 pm in the Student Union Little Theatre.
For over two decades, González was director of Radiation Safety at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog. As a senior officer, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Agency in 2005 for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way.
González is an expert in the field of radiation protection, i.e. protecting people and their habitat against the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation and safety and security of radiation sources. He is a member of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, an apolitical technical body reporting to the United Nations General assembly, which estimates the global levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation.
He is Commissioner of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, a non-profit academic charity founded in 1928 by the International Congress of Radiology, which issues global recommendations on radiological protection; Vice-President of the International Radiation Protection Association, which assembles and represents the radiation protection professionals around the world; and a member of the IAEA's Commission of Safety Standards, which is charged with establishing international standards on nuclear, radiation, waste and transport safety.
Gonzalez will give a technical lecture, “2006 Scientific Progress in Radiation Protection: Protecting People and Their Habitat Against Atomic Radiation,” on Friday, February 23 at 2:00 pm in Room 106, Noble Research Center.
More activities scheduled during Research Week are available online at www.researchweek.okstate.edu. For more information, contact Darla Duncan, Office of the VP for Research and Technology Transfer, 405-744-6370 or email darla.duncan@okstate.edu.
