- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Jacobs will discuss her newly published book, “Jonas Salk: a Life,” which chronicles the life of whom she describes as “one of America's most beloved and decorated scientific heroes.”
The LASER event, to be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in Room 3001 of the Plant and Environmental Sciences Building, will feature four speakers from the arts and sciences, who will present 20-minute talks on several disciplines, including medicine, visual art and astrophysics.
The event is free and open to the public. It is affiliated with the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion, co-founded by entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, professor of entomology at UC Davis, and self-described rock artist Donna Billick.
Jacobs, who currently cares for U.S. military cancer patients at the Palo Alto Veterans Medical Center, is the Ben and A. Jess Shenson Professor of Medicine (emeritus) at Stanford University. A native of Kingsport, Tenn., she studied medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. As a professor at Stanford University, she engaged in teaching, cancer research, and patient care. She received numerous awards for excellence in patient care and teaching, as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award from Washington University.
LASER organizer Anna Davidson serves as the moderator. She received her doctorate in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences and is currently a master of fine arts student at UC Davis.
Other speakers, all from the local or Bay Area, are:
8:10-8:35 p.m.: Rachel Clarke, artist and educator teaching new media art at California State University, Sacramento, will speak on “Merging Spaces,” about her latest art work, which combines physical and virtual modes of making
8:35-9 p.m.: Andreas Albrecht, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Physics, will speak on “What Is Time.” He is a leading theoretical physicist who specializes in understanding the origins of the universe will be talking about “time.”
In his origami talk, Lang says he will discuss the techniques used in mathematical origami design, which range from the abstruse to the highly approachable. “I will describe the geometric concepts led to the solution of a broad class of origami folding problems – specifically, the problem of efficiently folding a shape with an arbitrary number and arrangement of flaps.”
Lang holds a doctorate in applied physics from California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and during his work at NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Spectra Diode Laboratories, and JDS Uniphase, authored or co-authored more than 100 papers and 50 patents in lasers and optoelectronics as well as authoring, co-authoring, or editing 14 books and a CD-ROM on origami.
Clarke's work involves video and animation, installation, augmented reality and experimental 3D, and has been shown in galleries, museums, new media art festivals and film screenings nationally and internationally.
Professor Albrecht says that “Time is a central part of everyday life, yet it can still seem very mysterious.” He will discuss time from a physicist's point of view “in a way that takes us from every day experiences to deep questions about the cosmos.” He is a member of the new Center for Quantum Mathematics and Physics at UC Davis.
Related Links:
For more information on the program, see
https://www.facebook.com/events/1732840033613610/
For directions:
http://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/plantsciences/visitors/map.htm
Contact information:
Anna Davidson: adavidson@ucdavis.edu