Nobel Conference XXXV on Genetics to be Webcast
As this year's Nobel Conference(r) at Gustavus Adolphus College, Oct. 5-6, examines the emerging areas of genetics and predicts its effects into the next millennium, genetic experts, high school and college science students, and people around the world will be able to watch the conference live via the Internet.
Gustavus Adolphus College and Apple Computer Inc. are combining the content of the two-day conference and the latest Internet technologies to produce a high-quality, interactive Webcast. This live Webcast will be the first produced in an educational setting. Apple has used QuickTime technology to Webcast live music concerts, but it is looking to demonstrate what its technologies may do in classrooms across the globe. Through the Webcast, Gustavus and the Nobel Conference will lead education professionals in teaching through technology.
Seven of the world's leading authorities in the field of genetics will present their findings at the 35th conference, titled "Genetics in the New Millennium." The annual Nobel Conference is the only ongoing educational conference in the U.S. to have the official authorization of The Nobel Foundation in Stockholm. Each year the conference attracts about 6,000 people to the St. Peter, Minn., campus.
This year's conference will examine such topics as the technology of gene splicing, DNA sequencing of genomes, and the relationship of genetics and human behavior. "The gen-tech industry of today is the equivalent of the computer industry 20 years ago," said Richard Elvee, a mentor to the conference for all 35 years, and its director since 1981. "There are tremendous changes ahead. As the largest annual science education conference in the world, we can speculate that some of these thousands of high school and college students may become some of the leading genetics researchers of tomorrow."
Presenters at the conference will be Leroy Hood, University of Washington, Seattle; J. Craig Venter, Celera Genomics Corporation, Rockville, Md.; Elizabeth Blackburn, University of California, San Francisco; Dean Hamer, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.; Evelyn Fox Keller, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Lindon Eaves, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond; and Bruce Baker, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif.
"Gustavus Adolphus College has been privileged to host the annual Nobel Conferences," said President Axel Steuer. "These educational conferences, established as a living memorial to Alfred Nobel, have brought to the college scores of Nobel laureates, hundreds of other prominent scholars, and thousands of lay participants from around the world to explore the leading scientific and philosophical issues of our age."
The annual conferences are open to the public. For registration information about Nobel Conference, contact (507) 933-7520 or e-mail [email protected]. Individuals interested in viewing the Webcast should visit the college's Nobel Conference Web site at www.gustavus.edu/nobel. Specific instructions for viewing the Webcast will be provided on the site.
Founded in 1862 by Swedish Lutheran immigrants, Gustavus is a private, four-year, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The college is named in honor of Swedish King Gustav II Adolf. In the early 1960s, college officials sought permission from The Nobel Foundation to name the college's new science hall the Alfred Nobel Hall of Science, in honor of the Swedish scientist and philanthropist. Permission was granted. The building was dedicated on May 4, 1963 and officials from The Nobel Foundation and 26 Nobel laureates attended the ceremony.
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Note to Journalists: If you'd like to cover the event, please preregister with Gustavus Adolphus College News Director Stacia Senne at (507) 933-7510 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Complimentary lecture tickets, along with informational packets, will be available to preregistered media representatives at the conference. To obtain a schedule, additional biographical information, or to download photographs of the presenters, visit the Gustavus Nobel Conference Web site (www.gustavus.edu/nobel).
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