| RELATED INFO |
| * Discovery Lecture Series |
| * Center for the Environment |
| * Discovery Park |
| * Endocrine Disruption Exchange |
| * National Ecological Observatory Network |
September 24, 2008
Environmental health researchers highlight Discovery Lecture Series
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Leading international researchers probing how the environment impacts health in humans and animals will provide keynote lectures on Oct. 7 at Purdue University's next Discovery Lecture Series event.Theo Colborn, professor emeritus of zoology at the University of Florida and president of the Endocrine Disruption Exchange, and James A. MacMahon, trustee professor of biology at Utah State University and board chairman of the National Ecological Observatory Network, will give separate lectures beginning at 7 p.m. in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse.
The Discovery Lecture, titled "A World of Uncertainty: Thresholds and Dilemmas in Ecology," is free and open to the public.
Event organizers are Discovery Park, Purdue's Center for the Environment, the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Department of Biological Sciences and the Lilly Endowment.
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The talk by Colborn, who leads the Paonia, Colo.-based Endocrine Disruption Exchange, will highlight her research on the effects of chemicals that disrupt a living organism's endocrine system, where hormones are regulated, and the challenges these contaminants pose to humans and animals.
Colborn is best known for her 1996 book "Our Stolen Future," which has been published in 18 languages and drawn comparisons to Rachel Carson's landmark 1962 environmental book "Silent Spring," said event organizer John Bickham, director of Discovery Park's Center for the Environment and professor forestry and natural resources.
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MacMahon will give an overview of the National Ecological Observatory Network, a national observatory, based in Boulder, Colo., which researches the ecological impacts of climate change, land-use change and invasive species. In addition, he will discuss his research in the orderly change of an ecological community, scientifically known as succession.
Bickham said the Discovery Lecture also features panelists responding to MacMahon and Colborn's talks. Panelists are:
* David Neale, a plant genetics professor at University of California, Davis, director of the Institute of Forest Genetics and an executive director of the Conifer Genome Project.
* John Avise, distinguished professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Irvine, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation.
* David Hillis, professor of zoology at the University of Texas, MacArthur Foundation Fellow and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
In addition, Bickham said, the lecture will explore the types of technologies, innovations and entrepreneurship needed to develop better monitoring systems for environmental changes and their effects on human and animal health
The event also will be used to provide content for the forthcoming book "Molecular Insights into Natural Resource Conservation." The book, which will be published in 2009 by Cambridge University Press, will include chapters by speakers and panelists at the Purdue lecture.
The Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment provided a $1 million gift to Purdue's Discovery Park in 2005 to sponsor the ongoing Discovery Lecture Series.
Writers: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: John Bickham, (765) 494-5146, bickham@purdue.edu
James A. MacMahon, (435) 797-8151, jam@cc.usu.edu
Theo Colborn, (970) 527-4082, colborn@tds.net
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Media representatives who want to arrange interviews with James A. MacMahon, Theo Colborn or any of the other panelists in advance of their visit for Purdue's next Discovery Lecture can contact Phillip Fiorini at (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu .
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