University Lectures

Monday, April 14th

4:30pm Adamson Wing Auditorium, 136A Baker Hall

JOURNEYS LECTURE

Terry Collins, Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry and Director, The Institute for Green Science

PURSUING SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES: PEOPLE CHANGE PEOPLE

By my early twenties, I expected to teach chemistry in my native New Zealand in a high school or, if I was lucky, a university. But my professional life unfolded as I could never have imagined. In time, I arrived at Carnegie Mellon where I have seen the chemistry department develop so positively over two decades that its renewal must be of historical significance.

I was molded by the beauty of nature and etched by experiences of youth and later life to be skeptical of the power of entrenched systems. Some chemicals are pulling mankind away from the unpolluted environment and trans-generational justice upon which a good future depends. This is starkly evident with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that can impair living things at environmentally relevant concentrations making EDCs the foremost challenge for green chemistry. In contrast, I marvel at the sustainability wisdom in great books and the power for good of resolute friends who, variously, reveal through science the EDC hazards, explain these comprehensibly to the public, and develop safer alternatives. I have been lucky to design a catalytic technology that appears to define the state of the art for removing recalcitrant pollutants (including many EDCs) and hardy pathogens from water.

The need to develop a non-hazardous technology base underpins the mission of our recently renamed Institute for Green Science. To be of transcendent value, universities will need to reorient throughout to help build a sustainable civilization. The associated challenges of vision, strategy, scholarship, research, education, and outreach are decidedly multidisciplinary. I take heart in believing that Carnegie Mellon and its students will be leaders in building a lasting future.

Monday, April 14th (PLEASE NOTE DAY, TIME AND LOCATION OF LECTURE!)

6:00pm Rangos 3, University Center

Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director, Center for Muslim Studies, The Gallup Organization

WHO SPEAKS FOR ISLAM? WHAT A BILLION MUSLIMS REALLY THINK

Co-sponsored by the Muslim Students Association and the Saudi Students House

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on 9/11, U.S. public officials seemed to have no idea whether or not many Muslims supported the bombings. This troubled Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton, who felt that no one in Washington had any idea what 1.3 billion Muslims were thinking, and yet we were working on intricate strategies that were going to change the world for all time. Clifton commissioned his company to undertake the enormous job. The result is Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Million Muslims Really Think by John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed (Gallup Press; March 2008; hardcover). This is an important book that challenges conventional wisdom and sheds greater light on what motivates Muslims worldwide. The book was created from six years of research and tens of thousands of interviews representing 1.3 billion Muslims who reside in more than 35 nations that are predominantly Muslim or have sizable Muslim populations. This group represents more than 90% of the Muslim community, and the poll is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind. What the study reveals may surprise you. The conflict between Muslim and Western communities, write Esposito and Mogahed, is far from inevitable. It is more about policy than principles. But, until and unless decision makers gain an accurate understanding of this conflict by listening directly to the people, extremists on all sides will continue to gain ground.

Dalia Mogahed is a Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, a nonpartisan research center dedicated to providing data-driven analysis on the views of Muslim populations around the world. With John L. Esposito, Ph.D., she is coauthor of the forthcoming book Who Speaks for Islam?: What a Million Muslims Really Think. Her analysis has appeared in a number of leading publications, including the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy Magazine, Harvard International Review, The Journal of Middle East Policy, and many other academic and popular journals.

Monday, April 14th (PLEASE NOTE DAY, TIME AND LOCATION OF LECTURE!)

5 :00pm CIC Room 1201 (Collaborative Innovation Center)

Videoconference

The International Relations Program at Carnegie Mellon University Presents:

Admiral Mike Mullen , Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in videoconference

Admiral Mullen was sworn in as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on October 1, 2007. He serves as the principal military advisor to the President, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council. Prior to becoming Chairman, Admiral Mullen served as the 28th Chief of Naval Operations.

A native of Los Angeles, he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968. He commanded three ships: the gasoline tanker USS Noxubee (AOG 56), the guided missile destroyer USS Goldsborough (DDG 20), and the guided missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG 48).As a Flag Officer, Admiral Mullen commanded Cruiser-Destroyer Group 2, the George Washington Battle Group, and the U.S. 2nd Fleet/NATO Striking Fleet Atlantic. Ashore he has served in leadership positions at the Naval Academy, in the Navy's Bureau of Personnel, in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Navy Staff. He was the 32nd Vice Chief of Naval Operations from August 2003 to October 2004.

His last operational assignment was as Commander, NATO Joint Force Command Naples/Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe. Admiral Mullen is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School and earned a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Tuesday, April 15th

3:45-4:30pm Reception outside Baker Hall A53, Steinberg Auditorium prior to lecture

*4:30-6:00pm Lecture, Steinberg Auditorium, Baker Hall A53 (PLEASE NOTE TIME* & LOCATION OF LECTURE!)

Bernard Amadei, Professor, University of Colorado and Director, Engineering for Developing Communities Program, Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

ROLE OF ENGINEERS IN POVERTY REDUCTION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Co-sponsored by the Distinguished Lecture Series in Environmental Science, Technology and Policy

In the next two decades, almost two billion additional people are expected to populate the Earth, 95% of them in developing or underdeveloped countries. This growth will create unprecedented demands for energy, food, land, water, transportation, materials, waste disposal, earth moving, health care, environmental cleanup, telecommunication, and infrastructure. The role of engineers will be critical in fulfilling those demands at various scales, ranging from remote small communities to large urban areas, and mostly in the developing world. As we enter the first half of the 21st century, the engineering profession must embrace a new mission statementto contribute to the building of a more sustainable, stable, and equitable world. In particular, we need to train a new generation of engineers who could better meet the challenges of the developing world and address the needs of the most destitute people on our planet. Today, an estimated 20% of the worlds population lacks clean water, 40% lacks adequate sanitation, and 20% lacks adequate housing.

The lecture will present the challenges and opportunities associated with practicing engineering in the developing world and the education of engineers through organizations such as Engineers Without Borders. The lecture will also discuss the importance of integrating engineering with non-engineering disciplines when addressing the needs of developing communities.

Monday, April 21st

4:30pm Adamson Wing Auditorium, Baker Hall 136A

David D. Cole, Professor of Law, Georgetown University

LESS SAFE, LESS FREE: WHY AMERICA IS LOSING THE WAR ON TERRORISM

Co-sponsored by the Muslim Students Association

In the name of preventing another terrorist attack, the U.S. government has adopted an aggressive "preventive paradigm" since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It often cites the absence of a second attack as evidence that its strategy has worked. I argue that the preventive paradigm has not only caused the administration to sacrifice some of our most deeply held commitments, but has actually made us less safe -- limiting our options in dealing with dangerous people, undermining our standing in the world at large, fomenting Al Qaeda recruitment, and taking attention away from more effective preventive measures. In other words, we have not sacrificed liberty for security. We have sacrificed both liberty and equality. I conclude that a more sensible preventive strategy could have been employed, and must be employed in the future if we are to maintain our principles and our safety.

David Cole is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, a volunteer staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, the legal affairs correspondent for The Nation, a regular contributor to the New York Review of Books, and a commentator on National Public Radios All Things Considered. He is the author of three award-winning books. His most recent book, Less Safe, Less Free: Why America Is Losing the War on Terror, won the Palmer Civil Liberties Prize in 2007 for best book on national security and civil liberties. He has litigated many significant constitutional cases, including Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman. Since 9/11, he has been involved in many of the nations most important cases involving civil liberties and national security. David has received numerous awards for his human rights work. New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis has called David one of the countrys great legal voices for civil liberties today.

Tuesday, April 22nd

4:30pm - Rangos 1, University Center

Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D., Senior Scientist, Nuclear Threat Initiative/Global Health and Security Inititative, Washington, DC

HEALTH AND SECURITY IN A CHANGING WORLD

For as far back as recorded history, health and security have intersected in important and far-reaching ways. The complex, rapidly transforming and often dangerous world we now live in demands that we think ever more seriously and creatively about these important issues. The nexus between global health, science and security reveals itself in many ways. There is a pressing need to implement strong and effective programs and policies, and the scientific, medical and public health communities must be at the forefront of these efforts. Moreover, we have a vital and unique opportunity to use our strengths in science and health as a tool of international diplomacy and a bridge to a safer world.

My talk will focus on three critical and related domains of activity: First: emerging infections and microbial threats to health; second, the intentional use of biological agents to do harmparticularly biological terrorism; and lastly the potential uses for science and health as a bridge to a safer world.

Thursday, April 24th

4:30pm Steinberg Auditorium, Baker Hall A53

Helen Nissenbaum, Professor, Media, Culture & Communication, New York University

VALUES IN DESIGN

Co-sponsored by the Humanities Center

Tuesday, April 29th

5:00-6:30pm Connan Room, University Center

Judy Wicks, Founder of Philadelphias Sustainable Business Network, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (Balle) and the White Dog Cafe

LOCAL LIVING ECONOMIES: GREEN, FAIR AND FUN

The Local Living Economies and Urban Farming lecture series concludes with Judy Wicks, founder of Philadelphia's Sustainable Business Network, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE, www.livingeconomies.org/ ), and the White Dog Caf. Wicks is probably best known for establishing The White Dog Cafe on the first floor of her Philadelphia home in 1983. As the restaurant grew, so did her notion that the strength of her business relied upon the quality and sustainability of its locally grown ingredients. Envisioning how strengthening relationships among independent, community-rooted enterprises could inspire broad and profound cultural change, Wicks joined the Social Venture Network and co-founded the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) in 2001, She is currently writing a book about the White Dog Caf and local living economies called Good Morning, Beautiful Business.

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