Physicist, Activist, PepsiCo CEO to Speak at Yale

The following talks at Yale University March 10-23 are free and open to the public, unless noted otherwise.

Noted physicist to speak about science in reunified Germany

Gisbert Freiherr zu Putlitz, a noted German physicist, will speak on the topic “German Science After Reunification” on Wednesday, March 10, at 4 p.m. in Rm. 203 of Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave. The talk is sponsored by the Connecticut Humboldt Association of America at Yale and the department of political science.

Zu Putlitz is the author of more than 200 publications on topics as diverse as Jewish integration and identification, atoms and ions in superfluid helium, and the ecological aspects of scientific research. Noted for bringing together basic and applied research for the benefit of humanity, he received the Federal Republic of Germany’s Distinguished Service Award in 1984. Five years later he won the Leo Baeck Prize.

Zu Putlitz is chair of the German Ministry for Science and Technology Commissions on Basic Research, on Nuclear Solid State and on Medium Energy Physics. He also serves as chair of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Council for Research. At Heidelberg University he is director of the Institute of Physics, a member of the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics and a Commissioner of the Deutsche Forschungs Gessellschaft. He has also served as rector of the university and acting rector of its College for Jewish Studies.

Zu Putlitz has been associated with Yale’s physics department since 1967. With Hughes, he studied the exotic atom muonium, composed of a muon and an electron. The two scientists are now doing a precise measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon at Brookhaven Laboratory.

Zu Putlitz is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the New York Academy of Sciences and is a member of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences in Stockholm, among other professional organizations.

Writer-activist will discuss community involvement

Parker J. Palmer, a nationally known writer, teacher and activist who works independently on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change, will be featured in two special events at the Divinity School.

On Monday, March 22, Palmer will deliver a free public lecture/discussion at 4 p.m. in Marquand Chapel. During the session, titled “The Renewal of Community in Higher Education: Focus on Teaching and Learning,” Palmer will challenge conventional ways of understanding community and offer a way of thinking about the transformation of academic culture that addresses both the need for community and the academy’s mission.

On Tuesday, March 23, Palmer will lead a seminar, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m., titled “Receiving the Gift of Community in the Congregation: On Leadership, Structures and Spiritual Foundations.” Participants will explore the components of community and the kind of leadership required for a cohesive community, with special attention paid to spiritual challenges. Through lectures, discussion and dialogue around biblical stories, participants will work as a temporary community of inquiry and support. There is a registration fee of $75 for this seminar.

Palmer’s lecture and seminar are funded in part by the Francis Asbury Palmer fund, in memory of William Anderton Chisolm, a 50-year director of the fund and grand-nephew of Francis Asbury Palmer. Monday’s public lecture is cosponsored by the Dwight Hall Leadership Connection. For more information, call 764-9300.

PepsiCo chair to discuss 21st-century company goals

“Leading PepsiCo into the Twenty-First Century” is the title of a talk being presented by Roger Enrico, chair and CEO of PepsiCo, Inc., on Tuesday, March 23, 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. in the General Motors Room of Horchow Hall, 55 Hillhouse Ave. This is a School of Management Leaders Forum event.

Enrico heads one of the world’s largest and most successful consumer products companies. PepsiCo, with 1998 revenues of over $22 billion, consists of Pepsi-Cola Company, the second largest soft drink business; Frito-Lay Company, the largest manufacturer and distributor of snack chips; and Tropicana Products, the largest marketer and producer of branded juice. PepsiCo products are available in more than 190 countries and territories.

Enrico has played a major role in PepsiCo’s growth since joining the corporation in 1971. He started his PepsiCo career in the marketing department at Frito-Lay. He later held senior positions in marketing and sales at Pepsi-Cola and served in top positions internationally. He was appointed president of PepsiCo’s Pepsi-Cola U.S. beverage business in 1983, then became chief executive officer, and subsequently assumed the position of president and chief executive officer of the worldwide business. From 1991-93 he held equivalent top positions in PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay snack food business. He was appointed vice chair of PepsiCo in 1994. In 1996 he was named chief executive officer; later that year he was appointed chair of the board.