Nobel laureate Walter Kohn to give Brickwedde Lecture

The Physics and Astronomy Department will host its annual Ferdinand G. Brickwedde Lecture in Physics at 4 p.m. on May 9. This year's lecture, which will be presented in Schafler Auditorium in the Bloomberg Center, will be given by Nobel laureate Walter Kohn.

Kohn shared the 1998 Nobel Prize in chemistry with British researcher John Pople. The prize committee cited Kohn for his development of a theory that simplifies mathematical descriptions of the way the atoms that make up a molecule bond together.

Kohn's lecture is titled "Through a Glass Darkly: A Physicist Looks Into the Future."

Kohn received his doctorate in nuclear physics from Harvard. He has been a faculty member at Harvard, Carnegie Mellon and the University of California at San Diego and at Santa Barbara. He was the founding director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the National Science Foundation and is a member or fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Physical Society and the Royal Society of London.

The Brickwedde lectures are made possible by a contribution from Hopkins alumnus and faculty member Ferdinand Brickwedde and his wife, Langhorne Howard Brickwedde. Ferdinand Brickwedde, who died in 1989, was a distinguished researcher who co-discovered deuterium, a heavy isotope of hydrogen. Brickwedde was the emeritus Evan Pugh Research Professor of Physics until his death.

SOM professor elected to National Academy of Sciences

Peter C. Agre, a professor of biological chemistry and director of the Markey Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine, was among the 60 new members elected May 2 to the National Academy of Sciences.

Election to the academy, which is in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research, is considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded to a U.S. scientist or engineer. The academy was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, that calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology. There are 1,843 active members.

Herbs at Homewood House: "An Aromatic Spring"

During "Homewood: An Aromatic Spring," May 9 to 14 at Homewood House Museum, visitors will learn how herbs were used during the Federal period in food, cosmetics and even in insect repellent.

An essential oils workshop will be held from noon to 1 p.m. on Fri., May 12, with Theresa Mueller of Touch the Earth. Admission is $6 adults, $5 seniors, $3 students and includes materials and a tour. On Mother's Day, May 14, from noon to 4 p.m., mothers will be given free admission and the opportunity to make an herbal gift.

Admission to "An Aromatic Spring" is $6 adults, $5 seniors and $3 for students. JHU staff and students are free. For museum hours or reservations, call 410-516-5589.

APL licenses retinal treatment technology to Akorn Inc.

The Applied Physics Laboratory has licensed to Akorn Inc. a technology designed to fight a leading cause of vision loss in the United States.

The licensing agreement grants Akorn, a specialty pharmaceutical company based in Buffalo Grove, Ill., exclusive worldwide rights to a patented method for treating a type of age-related macular degeneration. The patents cover a process and technology known as dye-enhanced photocoagulation, invented by a former APL employee. Negotiated through APL's Office of Technology Transfer, the multimillion-dollar deal includes up-front license fees, milestone payments and royalties on sales of the product and procedure when they are approved.

It is the largest licensing agreement ever for an APL-developed technology.

"This agreement presents a tremendous opportunity to apply advanced technology to help many people who struggle with this potentially blinding disease," says Rich Roca, director of APL.

Leon Fleisher inducted into Classical Music Hall of Fame

On April 28, Leon Fleisher became the first living American pianist to be inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, which is located in Cincinnati.

Fleisher, a member of the Peabody Conservatory faculty, received the honor at a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

Martin E.P. Seligman to give first Jerome Frank Lecture

Martin E.P. Seligman will give the first annual Jerome Frank Lecture, titled "Positive Psychology," at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, in the Mountcastle Auditorium of the Preclinical Teaching Building, JHMI.

Seligman works on learned helplessness, depression, and optimism and pessimism. Currently Fox Leadership Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, Seligman is also a best-selling author.

The event, free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs. For more information, call 410-955-3363.

Hopkins to sponsor conference on nursing

Nursing in the New Millennium--High Tech/High Touch" is the theme of the Johns Hopkins Nurses' Alumni Association program that is scheduled for June 9.

The conference, which will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Pier 5 Hotel in Baltimore, will focus on innovative technology and alternative methods of patient care. The featured speaker will be Joan Lorenz, founder and president of Clearly Stated, a health care information service.

Cost for the day is $70, $60 for Hopkins School of Nursing alumni, $30 for students and $20 for Hopkins School of Nursing students. Six continuing education units are pending. For registration information, contact Melinda Rose at 410-955-4285.