The College of Arts and Sciences annual Nobel Prize Symposium
continues in a new format on Nov. 9 and 10, with a virtual, two-part series of
talks by University of Delaware faculty experts who will discuss the work that
won the prestigious international awards for 2020.
Each year, the free public event provides its audience with a more
comprehensive description of the work and the laureates honored by the Nobel
organization than is available in general media coverage. Faculty members share
their expertise on the subjects in short talks that are designed for a lay
audience.
The symposium highlights both the prize-winning work and the high level of research and scholarship conducted at UD, much of it related to that of the year's Nobel laureates.
This years event, which will be offered online to comply with
COVID health and safety precautions, will continue the tradition of allowing
time for audience members to ask questions of the speakers.
Following is a schedule of the prizes and the speakers and their
topics. Each series of talks begins at 7 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 9:
ChemistryJeff Mugridge, assistant
professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will speak about the work of
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna, who discovered the CRISPR/Cas9
genetic scissors that allow for genome editing. The genetic scissors have taken the life sciences into a
new epoch and, in many ways, are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind,
according to the Nobel Prize organization.
LiteratureDevon Miller-Duggan, assistant professor of English, will
discuss the work of American poet Louise
Gl??ck, who has won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award and published
12 collections of poetry and several books of essays on poetry. The Nobel
organization cited her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty
makes individual existence universal.
Physiology or MedicineMark Parcells, professor of animal and food
sciences, will explain the discovery of the hepatitis C virus by Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.
Before their work, most cases of blood-borne hepatitis, a major global health
problem, were unexplained. Now, the Nobel organization said, their discovery
has made possible blood tests and new medicines that have saved millions of
lives.
Tuesday, Nov. 10
PeaceLindsay Naylor, assistant professor of geography and spatial
sciences, will discuss the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to the World Food
Program, the worlds largest organization addressing hunger and food
insecurity. In announcing the award, the Nobel organization said: The link between hunger and armed conflict is a vicious
circle: War and conflict can cause food insecurity and hunger, just as hunger
and food insecurity can cause latent conflicts to flare up and trigger the use
of violence.
PhysicsFederica Bianco, assistant professor of physics and astronomy,
will explain the discoveries made by Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea
Ghez about black holes. Penrose discovered that black hole formation is a
robust prediction of the general theory of relativity, according to the Nobel
announcement, while Genzel and Ghez discovered that an object believed to be a
supermassive black hole is at the center of our galaxy.
EconomicsJeremy Tobacman, associate professor of economics, will speak
about the research conducted by Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson that has
led to improvements in auction theory and the invention of new auction formats.
The new auction formats are a beautiful
example of how basic research can subsequently generate inventions that benefit
society, the award announcement said.
For more information about
the symposium and how to attend virtually, visit this website.
Article by Ann Manser, with information from the Nobel Prize organization
Published Oct. 27, 2020
