Search this Site

Print this page
RSS

"Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecture (Sponsored by Sigma Xi and the Department of Physics)
"Right and Left: Mineral Surfaces, Molecular Selection, and the Origin of Life's Homochirality""

Thursday September 11, 2008

4:00pm Fowler Hall

Stewart Center 4:00-5:00 PM
Reception: 3:15-3:45 PM
West Foyer, Stewart Center

R.M. Hazen

Senior Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and
Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Science at George Mason University

"Right and Left: Mineral Surfaces, Molecular Selection, and the Origin of Life's Homochirality"
Robert M. Hazen, Senior Staff Scientist at the Carnegie Institution's Geophysical Laboratory and Clarence Robinson Professor of Earth Science at George Mason University received the B.S. and S.M. in geology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1971), and the Ph.D. at Harvard University in earth science (1975). He is author of 330 scientific articles and 20 books, including Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life's Origin. The Past President of the Mineralogical Society of America, Hazen's recent research focuses on the role of minerals in the origin of life and the development of complex systems. He is also active in presenting science to nonscientists through writing, radio, TV, public lectures, and video courses. In addition Hazen is a professional trumpeter and is a member of the National Gallery Orchestra and the National Philharmonic.
Hazen's books have received widespread critical praise, culminating in his being awarded the Elizabeth Wood Science Writing Award (1998).
Books of great value for the History of Contemporary Science are: The Breakthrough, (1988) about the discovery of light temperature superconductivity, The New Alchemists: Breaking through the Barriers of High-Pressure Research (1994), and The Diamond Makers (1999), exploring the history of synthetic diamond.