April 27, 2006

Upcoming events

May 8 biotech symposium draws London scientists

A group of top scientists from Imperial College London will join nanotechnology experts from Northwestern May 8 to lead a daylong symposium, “Bionanotechnology for Medical Applications,” for Chicago-area academic, industry and business leaders.

The program will focus on critical issues involving bionanotechnology and translational medicine in an event designed to launch a broader United Kingdom–Northwestern University initiative for scientific exchange visits and collaborations. Sponsored by UK Trade & Investment, the British Consulate-General, Chicago, and Northwest-ern’s Institute for BioNanotechnolo-gy in Medicine (IBNAM), the symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Pritzker Auditorium, Feinberg Pavilion, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 251 E. Huron St.

Symposium topics will include fundamental and applied aspects of nanoscience in chemistry and biology, such as cell and tissue regeneration, self-assembling and biomimetic materials and the physical chemistry of cell membranes.

Recognizing the importance of nanoscience, nanotechnology and bionanotechnology, U.K. and U.S. government agencies, universities and industry have made significant investments in these areas of research. Rapid growth is expected to continue as these emerging technologies help identify opportunities to improve human health and drive economic development.

IBNAM has been a leader in bringing together scientists and engineers from different disciplines to work on biomedical challenges. “We are excited to be working together now with Imperial College London,” said Samuel I. Stupp, director of IBNAM, Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry and Medicine at Northwestern and symposium co-chair.

The diversity of expertise and knowledge represented by the speakers — in medicine, bioengineering, materials science, computer science, chemistry and other fields — promises to encourage discourse and promote future interdisciplinary collaborations.

To register, go to www.uktradeinvestusa.com/ibnam or contact Gila Budescu at (312) 503-3246.

May is National Physical Fitness and Sports month

Free healthy weight, blood pressure and injury, foot and spinal screenings are among the many events the athletics and recreation department has planned for individuals of all fitness levels during Northwestern’s Celebration of National Physical Fitness and Sports month in May.

Most of the activities will be held at the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and Norris Aquatics Center.

The kick-off event for the month-long celebration will be the Family Springfest, 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 30 at the Sports and Aquatics Center. A small fee will be charged for learn-to-swim lessons, “splish splashin’ fun” in the pool, a sandcastle building contest and a beach barbecue.

Details on the following May highlights are available online at www.fitrec.northwestern.edu.

• Free Fridays for Northwestern faculty and staff, May 5, May 12, May 19 and May 26.

• Massage Therapy special throughout May.

• Free healthy weight and blood pressure screenings will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2 and Wednesday May 17, and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 6.

• National Employee Health and Fitness Day, May 17. Pre-registration is recommended for the following events: free injury screenings provided by AthletiCo from 4 to 7 p.m.; free foot screenings by the Foot & Ankle Clinics of America, 5 to 7 p.m.; and free spinal screenings by the Center for Natural Therapy, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

• National Bike to Work Day, 8 to 10 a.m. Friday, May 19.

• Active Older Adult Celebration Week, May 30 through June 2. Free access to group fitness classes.

• Free Active Aging presentation titled “The Memory Game,” featuring Jonathan Maks, M.D., noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 31. Free light lunch for those who attend. Pre-registration desired.

• Free Tai Chi class, 9 to 10 a.m. and 1 to 2 p.m.; Prime Time Fitness, 10 to 11 a.m.; and gentle pilates, 11 a.m. to noon, Friday, June 2.

For more information call (847) 491-4303 or go to www.fitrec.northwestern.edu.

May 1 Van Zelst Lecture on cyberinfrastructure

Noshir S. Contractor will talk about the effect of cyberinfrastructure — the ability to seamlessly connect individuals with one another as well as with relevant datasets, documents, visual-analytic took and other computing resources — on today’s communities at the 23rd annual Van Zelst Lecture in Communication.

The free, public event sponsored by the School of Communication will take place at 4 p.m. May 1 in the Tribune Auditorium of the James L. Allen Center. RSVP is required to ana-davis@northwestern.edu.

The lecture titled “From Disasters to WOW: Enabling Communities with Cyberinfrastructure” will cover the major socio-technical advances and challenges for the development and growth of digital technologies in communities.

Contractor, a professor in the department of speech communication, department of psychology and the Coordinated Science Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, conducts research on the interaction between communication, technology and social forces.

The lecture series began in 1981 when Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Van Zelst established an endowment to provide foran annual lecture designed to increase the understanding of significant trends in the field of communication.

May 4, 5 institute features SEC officials on business law

Keynote speaker Martin P. Dunn and six other senior Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials will address pressing issues facing corporate and securities lawyers at the School of Law’s 26th Annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate and Securities Law Institute.

Part of a nationally prominent continuing legal education program that addresses evolving concerns of today’s legal and business worlds, the Garrett Institute will take place May 4 and 5 at the School of Law, 357 E. Chicago Ave.

Led by SEC officials and experienced practitioners, the institute will address issues such as proposed disclosure rules for executive compensation, implications of the new reform process for securities offerings and dealing with activist stockholders.

For complete program information, go to www.law.northwestern.edu/garrett/ or call (312) 503-8932.