Pitt 'Science 2010—Transformations' Set for Oct. 7-8 in Alumni Hall

The University of Pittsburgh’s 10th annual celebration of science and technology, “Science2010—Transformations,” will be held Oct. 7-8 in Alumni Hall. Admission to all Science2010 events is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

The conference’s activities are intended to provide opportunities for participants to gain both knowledge and transformative knowledge. “There is no textbook for practicing transformative science,” the conference’s Web site says. “But Science2010 is predicated on the belief that we raise our chances of achieving transformative insight when we go beyond mastering our own areas of expertise and actively engage our peers in other disciplines. The challenge we face today—in achieving great science, in developing new technologies, in translating biomedical research into clinical practice—is to make the connections that transform who we are, what we do, and how we see the world we inhabit.”

The event’s four plenary speakers and their lecture topics are Stephen J. Elledge, the Gregor Mendel Professor of Genetics and Medicine and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Harvard Medical School, “The DNA Damage Response: Stopped for Repairs”; Patrick D. Gallagher, director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, “Strengthening the Connections: Research, Innovation, and Economic Growth”; Ann M. Graybiel, the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Neuroscience and investigator, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, “Our Habitual Lives: How the Brain Makes and Breaks Habits”; and Mark B. Roth, a member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and an affiliate associate professor at the University of Washington, “Metabolic Flexibility and Suspended Animation.”

Two poster sessions are scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 7 and 8, with topics ranging from basic life science to new research tools and techniques. An undergraduate research poster reception will be held at 5 p.m. Oct. 7 where undergrads from across the University will exhibit faculty-mentored research posters in basic science, medicine, and engineering.

Also on display will be product and service exhibits by corporate and organizational sponsors as well as information booths by University offices that serve the scientific community.

A full schedule of Science2010 events and registration details are available at www.science2010.pitt.edu.