Rensselaer president to deliver next Perspectives seminar April 12, Pelton

Center News

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, will deliver the Perspectives in Science lecture Thursday, April 12, at 4:30 p.m. in Pelton Auditorium. Her presentation, "Diversity in Context: New Perspectives for Science, Discovery and Innovation," is the final talk in the 2006-07 seminar series.

Scientific and medical researchers must keep abreast of discoveries and developments within their fields while understanding the greater global and societal contexts. Diversity is a critical and invaluable component for discovery and innovation within the global marketplace of ideas. Yet diversity in science and medicine — especially in research faculty and leadership positionsf — is scarce. Jackson will discuss new approaches for addressing diversity.

Jackson is a theoretical physicist specializing in theoretical condensed matter physics and the physics of opto-electronic materials. She has led Rensselaer since 1999. She is past president (2004) of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former chairman (2005) of their board of directors. Jackson is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in any subject, and is one of the first two African-American women to receive a doctorate in physics in the United States.

The seminar is open to all faculty and staff.

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