Harvard's Venky Narayanamurti to give Discovery Park Distinguished Lecture

On April 24, Discovery Park's Purdue Policy Research Institute will host Venky Narayanamurti, the Benjamin Peirce Research Professor of Technology and Public Policy at Harvard University, as part of the Discovery Park Distinguished Lecture Series. 

In his talk, "Bridging the Basic-Applied Dichotomy and the Cycles of Invention and Discovery," Narayanamurti will reflect on the genesis of the information and communications revolution and will use an analysis of the hard case of Nobel prizes in physics to show that the causal direction of scientific discovery and radical invention are often reversed.

The lecture will be held 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121, and is open to the public.

Narayanamurti is the author of more than 240 scientific papers in different areas of condensed matter and applied physics. He lectures widely on solid state, computer, communication and energy technologies, and on the management of science, technology and public policy. His recent book, "Cycles of Invention and Discovery: Rethinking the Endless Frontier," offers an in-depth look at the real-world practice of science and engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Indian Academy of Science, Indian National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and American Association for the Advancement of Science and an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and of the World Academy of Sciences.

Other upcoming Discovery Park Distinguished Lectures are:

* April 26: Arup K. Chakraborty, the Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering; professor of chemistry, physics and biological engineering; and director, Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “How to Hit HIV Where It Hurts.” 4-5 p.m., location to be determined.

The Discovery Park Distinguished Lecture Series is made possible by the Lilly Endowment, with the purpose of bringing experts and thought leaders in the areas of science and technology to Purdue. For more information on upcoming presentations, visit the Discovery Park Distinguished Lecture Series website at www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/dls, or contact Maria Longoria-Littleton, Discovery Park engagement operations manager, at mlongori@purdue.edu.

Writer: Sarah Anderson, andersons@purdue.edu, 765-494-1386

Source: Cliff Wojtalewicz, cliffw@purdue.edu, 765-496-3961