Theoretical Chemist, Theologian, Bamboo Flute Master, Environmental Experts to Speak at Yale This Week

The following talks at Yale University Jan. 19-25 are free and open to the public.

Noted Harvard scientist to deliver Silliman Lectures

Martin Karplus, a noted Harvard professor who specializes in theoretical chemistry and biochemistry, will present three lectures Jan. 19-21 on the topic “Proteins: The Fourth Dimension” as part of the Benjamin Silliman Memorial Lectures series. The lectures will be at 4 p.m. each day in Davies Auditorium in Becton Center, 15 Prospect St.

The individual topics and dates of his lectures are: “Dynamics and Function: An Overview,” with film, on Monday, Jan. 19; “Protein Folding: From the Native to the Denatured State and Back Again” on Tuesday, Jan. 20; and “How Enzymes Work: Activation Energies and Dynamics” on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

Karplus is the author of more than 500 journal articles and book chapters, as well as two books that focus on developing theoretical methods for increasing our understanding of chemical problems. Karplus now divides his time between Harvard and the Universit Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France. His current research focuses on protein folding and the use of computer simulations for combinatorial drug design.

Established in 1901, the Silliman Memorial Lectures series is the oldest at Yale. It was established by a bequest from Augustus Ely Silliman of Brooklyn, New York, in honor of his mother, Hepsa Ely Silliman. The annual lectureship is designed to “illustrate the presence and wisdom of God as manifested in the natural and moral world.”

Fordham theologian to present annual More House Lecture

Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, professor of theology at Fordham University, will deliver the annual More House Lecture Tuesday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. at Saint Thomas More Chapel, 268 Park St.

In her talk, titled “The Communion of Saints: New Perspectives,” Johnson will argue for rediscovering the Communion of Saints as a model for understanding the unity and variety of God’s creation. Louis Dupre, the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of Religious Studies at Yale, will respond.

Johnson’s work focuses on topics such as Mary, the Holy Spirit, Divine Providence, and the Living God. Her book “SHE WHO IS: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse” has been translated into four languages and has won awards from the University of Louisville, Crossroad Publishers and the Catholic Press Association. Johnson has served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America and as a member of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Women in Church and Society.

For more information about the lecture, call 777-5537.

Writer to discuss dealing with his son’s schizophrenia

“Fifty Psychiatrists Were Not Enough” is the title of a talk to be given on Thursday, Jan. 22, by Peter Wyden, author of the new book, “Conquering Schizophrenia.” Part of the CAMI Guest Lecture Series sponsored by the Yale Mental Health Education Program, Wyden will speak at 4 p.m. at the Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St.

In his talk, Wyden will reconstruct the lessons he has learned from 25 years of personal experience dealing with the medical community about his son’s schizophrenia. He will discuss why he believes a schizophrenic patient urgently requires a family advocate to fill a variety of roles, for which his son’s more than 50 psychiatrists and their staffs lacked the time or inclination, Wyden contends.

Wyden is formerly a writer for Newsweek and executive editor of Ladies Home Journal. For a decade he was the president of Peter Wyden Books, a publishing house specializing in books about psychology and medicine. His book “Conquering Schizophrenia” is the story of how he guided his son, Jeffrey – who became severely psychotic by his early 20s – from despair to hope. Wyden’s other books include “The Intimate Enemy” (with Dr. George Bach) and “Day One: Before Hiroshima and After Bay of Pigs: The Untold Story.”

Shakuhachi master will be guest at college tea

Elizabeth Reian Bennett, a master on the Japanese bamboo flute known as the shakuhachi, will speak and perform on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. at the Jonathan Edwards College master’s house, 70 High St.

Bennett is one of a small number of musicians in the world to have mastered the shakuhachi, a traditional Japanese five-holed instrument made from mandrake bamboo. After earning her doctorate at Yale in 1983, she received a grant from the Japanese government to study the shakuhachi at the Kinko school. She is the only woman, and one of few Americans, to receive that honor. Now certified as a master player, she received the name Reian from the Kinko school in 1982 and was given the honor of wearing her teacher’s family crest in recognition of her skills. Bennett has performed on the shakuhachi throughout the world, including regular visits to Japan. Her repertoire includes solo pieces, interpretations from ensemble works, recent compositions and folk songs.

Talk to explore how companies fare with respect to environment

Allen White, vice president of the Tellus Institute, a nonprofit consulting and research organization, will inaugurate this year’s annual spring lecture series on business and the environment sponsored by the Yale Industrial Environmental Management (IEM) Program. The series is titled “How Do You Know if You’re Going Green? Measuring Corporate Environmental Performance.”

White will discuss the state of the art in corporate environmental indicators in his talk “Green Metrics: Where We Are, Where We Need to Go” on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4:15 p.m. in Bowers Auditorium of Sage Hall, 205 Prospect St. A reception in the Sage Hall lounge will follow.

White heads the Tellus Institute’s Risk Group. He specializes in environmental accounting, pollution prevention policy and economics, corporate environmental performance reporting and business-sustainability strategies. He has conducted studies and served as an adviser to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state governments, private corporations, foundations and international organizations, including the United Nations Centre for Transnational Corporations, World Bank and U.S. AID.

The IEM spring lecture series of the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies is supported by the Joel Omura Kurihara Fund. Joel Kurihara, class of 1992, was committed to improving business and environmental relations, as well as advancing dialog on the topic.

Scholar’s talks focus on environmental issues

Mark Sagoff, a senior research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy at the University of Maryland, will speak on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m., on “Is the Environmental Crisis Over?” His talk is part of a seminar series on “Bioethics and Public Policy” sponsored jointly by Yale Hillel and the Institution for Social and Policy Studies. At 7:30 p.m. he will lecture on “The Rise of Civic Environmentalism: Local Problem-Solving and National Politics” at the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, 80 Wall St. A reception will follow.

Sagoff is president of the International Society for Environmental Ethic and is a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. He is the author of “The Economy of the Earth” and has published numerous articles, including a recent essay, “Do We Consume Too Much?” in the June 1997 issue of Atlantic Monthly.

The talks are offered as part of the third Annual Forum Series on Bioethical Issues in Society. It focuses on ethical problems in the environment, medicine, genetics and other areas where advances in science create new dilemmas for society. For further information, call Yale Hillel at 432-1134.

Sheffield Lecturer will talk on TThe Golden Age of Electronics’

Joseph B. Costello, vice chair of Knowledge Universe Inc. and a leading developer of electronic design automation software, will present the next Faculty of Engineering Sheffield Fellowship Lecture at Yale. Titled “The Golden Age of Electronics,” his talk will be held Monday, Jan. 26, at 4:30 p.m. in the Presidents’ Room of Woolsey Hall, corner of Grove and College streets. The presentation will be followed by a reception at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St.

Costello, who holds a M.S. in physics from Yale, joined the education software company Knowledge Universe Inc. in 1997. Previously, he was president and chief executive officer of Cadence Design Systems Inc. Under his guidance, Cadence grew to be the world’s leading supplier of electronic design automation (EDA) software and services, which are used in the development of products such as semiconductors, computers, networking equipment, telecommunications products and consumer electronics. In May 1997, Costello was recognized as the top performing CEO in North America by Chief Executive magazine.

The Sheffield Fellowship was established in 1996 to honor the former Sheffield Scientific School at Yale, which offered engineering programs from 1852 until it was absorbed into the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in the mid-1940s. The Sheffield Fellowship brings to Yale leaders and innovators in business, industry and government. In addition to presenting a lecture, fellows tour laboratories and classrooms and meet with faculty and students.