Marine biologist Jane Lubchenco and atmospheric chemist and Nobel laureate Mario Molina will deliver the second Sesquicentennial Environmental Initiative Lecture at 3 p.m. Oct. 9 in Graham Chapel.
The lecture will focus on science and the impact of human society on ecological systems.
The University is launching an initiative to help better understand the role that research universities can play in addressing environmental issues. This project will shape the educational programs, research and operations of the University related to the environment. It will become one of the defining interdisciplinary programs at the University.
Lubchenco is an environmental scientist with broad interests in understanding the natural dynamics of Earth’s ecosystems. She holds joint appointments in marine biology and in zoology at Oregon State University. She is the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” grant and a Heinz Prize in the Environment.
Molina has helped develop our understanding of the ozone layer’s chemistry and its susceptibility to human-created disruptions. He works on the problem of rapidly growing cities with severe air pollution.
Molina came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989 with joint appointments in earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences and in chemistry. He has received several awards for his scientific accomplishments, including the Heinz Prize in the Environment and the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry, which he shared with professors F.S. Rowland and P. Crutzen for their work on polar ozone depletion.
Assembly Series talks are free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4620 or go online to wupa.wustl.edu/assembly.