Thu Sep 20, 2018

Wed Sep 26, 2018

Volker Remmert: The Oberwolfach Research Institute for Mathematics, the early years

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Location: 117 Hayes-Healy

The Oberwolfach Research Institute for Mathematics (Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach/MFO) was founded in late 1944 by the Freiburg mathematician Wilhelm Süss (1895-1958) as „National Institute for Mathematics“. In the 1950s and 1960s the MFO developed into an increasingly international conference centre.…

Thu Sep 27, 2018

Volker Remmert: Iconography on Early Modern Scientific Instruments

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Location: 118 DeBartolo Hall

During the Scientific Revolution, scientific instruments, such as astrolabes, air pumps, microscopes and telescopes became increasingly important for the study of nature. In the early modern period they had not yet reached the status of standardized and impersonal means to study nature. Rather, they usually were unique items, which by their function as well as their design could serve the mediation between scholars, social elites and beyond. In this context the iconography on the instruments played a crucial role. In fact a great number of early modern instruments are adorned with images, that in themselves have no relevance for the use of the instruments, as for instance the depiction of Atlas and Hercules on an astrolabe by Praetorius (1568, Dresden) or the line of tradition in astronomy and geometry on Bürgi's astronomical clock (1591, Kassel) stretching from the church fathers to Copernicus. As of now, such imagery on instruments and its context have only sporadically been analysed. The project Iconography on early modern scientific instruments specifically analyses the imagery on the instruments. It aims for the first time at a systematic analysis of the multifaceted visual material on the instruments asking for its role in the various contexts of the adorned instruments (genesis, function, use) and its importance for setting up or supporting stories/histories of success and relevance within the emerging field of the sciences. The iconography points to quite a few significant topics as, for instance, statements of specific positions in theoretical debates (e.g. Copernican question), mediation and illustration of knowledge, in particular by picturing the usability of the instruments, or the role of instruments as patronage artefacts with specific iconographic programmes.…

Fri Sep 28, 2018

Coogan Lecture - Dr. Leroy E. Hood: How Scientific Wellness will Transform Individual Health and National Healthcare

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Location: Carey Auditorium at Hesburgh Library

Dr. Leroy E. Hood graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1964 with
an MD and from Caltech with a PhD in biochemistry in 1968. After three years as a Senior
Investigator at NIH, his academic career began at Caltech, where he and his colleagues developed
the DNA gene sequencer and synthesizer, and the protein synthesizer and sequencer–four
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Thu Oct 4, 2018

Thu Oct 18, 2018

Thu Nov 1, 2018

Thu Nov 15, 2018

Thu Nov 29, 2018