Weekly Calendar

Colloquia | Film/Video | Lectures | Open House | Seminars | Special Events | Sports |

 

Constitutional forum focuses on Connecticut eminent domain case

Epstein

A fervent critic of the Supreme Court's controversial recent decision on eminent domain is the featured speaker at Johns Hopkins' 2005 Constitutional Forum, a discussion of important legal issues held in conjunction with the annual observance of Constitution Day.

Richard Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, will speak at 8 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19, in Hodson Hall Auditorium on the Homewood campus.

Epstein's lecture — "Public Use v. Public Benefit: What's the Difference in a Word?" — will address the Supreme Court's June 23 decision in the case known as Kelo v. New London. The court, split 5-4, allowed that Connecticut city to proceed with plans to condemn privately owned land for redevelopment that was said to benefit the entire community.

The lecture will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

Since 1972, Epstein has taught at the University of Chicago Law School, where he directs the John M. Olin Program in Law and Economics. He has written books and articles on a wide range of legal and interdisciplinary subjects and taught courses in a variety of areas, including civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, health law and policy, labor law, property, real estate development and finance, jurisprudence, labor law, land use planning, patents, taxation and workers compensation.

In the June 27 Wall Street Journal, Epstein wrote an op-ed about the Kelo case, castigating the court's decision.

"The court could only arrive at its shameful Kelo ruling by refusing to look closely at past precedent and constitutional logic," Epstein wrote. "Courts that refuse to see no evil and hear no evil are blind to the endemic risk of factional politics at all levels of government. And being blind, this bare Supreme Court majority has sustained a scandalous and cruel act for no public purpose at all."

The 2005 Constitutional Forum is supported by the George Huntington Williams Memorial Lectureship, established to honor the memory of George Huntington Williams, a pioneer in the microscopic study of rocks and minerals. He was the university's first professor of petrology and in the late 1880s founded the Department of Geology, which is now called Earth and Planetary Sciences. In 1917, his family created an endowment in his memory for lectures by distinguished public figures on topics of widespread contemporary interest. Past speakers include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Russian President Boris Yeltsin and U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim.

The forum will also celebrate Constitution Day, officially Saturday, Sept.17. That is the day in 1787 when delegates convened for the final time to sign the Constitution.

The event is sponsored by the Office of the President in conjunction with the Krieger School's Department of Political Science and the Institute for Policy Studies.
—Amy Cowles

 

Colloquia

Wed., Sept. 14, 4 p.m. "Common Origin Inferences," a Center of History and Philosophy of Science/Philosophy colloquium with Michel Janssen, University of Minnesota; 323 Gilman. HW

Thurs., Sept. 15, 3 p.m. "An Historian Reflects on the Failure of Sickle Cell Screening Programs in the 1970s," a History of Science, Medicine and Technology colloquium with Ruth Schwartz Cowan, University of Pennsylvania; Seminar Room, 3rd floor, Welch Medical Library. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, 3:30 p.m. "Detecting Quantum Duality in Experiments: How Superfluids Become Solids in Two Dimensions," a Physics and Astronomy colloquium with Subir Sachdev, Harvard University; Schafler Auditorium, Bloomberg Center. HW

Thurs., Sept. 15, 4 p.m. "Levinas and Heidegger: The Anxiety of Influence," a Philosophy colloquium with Richard Wolin; 348 Gilman. HW

Mon., Sept. 19, 1:30 p.m. "'Hell Open'd': Fear of Poisoning in Early Modern England," a History of Science, Medicine and Technology colloquium with Melissa Grafe, JHU; Seminar Room, 3rd floor, Welch Medical Library. EB

 

Film/Video

Fri., Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m. Outdoor film: Pirates of the Caribbean. Sponsored by Summer and Intersession Programs; Keyser Quad. HW

 

Lectures

Fri., Sept. 16, 3 p.m. "From Interruption to Obstruction: Modernity and the Postmodern in Heinrich Boll's Dr. Murke's Collected Silences and Lars Von Trier's The Five Obstructions," a German lecture by David Ferris, University of Colorado, Boulder; 238 Gilman. HW

Fri., Sept. 16, 6:30 p.m. "Ancient Kingdoms and Royal Mummies: The Facts of Fiction in Hollywood Cinema," an illustrated lecture by art historian and Egyptologist Christine Foessmeier. Co-sponsored by the American Research Center in Egypt, Washington D.C. Chapter. Rome Auditorium. SAIS

 

Open House

Wed., Sept. 14, 5 to 7 p.m. Hopkins Biotech Network, a student-run organization promoting networking, education and career development in biotechnology and business, sponsors an event welcoming students back to school. www.hopkinsbiotechnetwork.org. Montgomery County Campus.

 

Seminars

Mon., Sept. 12, 12:15 p.m. "From Molecules to Memory in the Cerebellum," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with David Linden, SoM; 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Mon., Sept. 12, 12:15 p.m. "Creating Images That Create Change: Marketing Public Policy to the Public," a Population and Family Health Sciences seminar with Richard Ellenson, president, Blue Elephant Advertising; W1020 SPH. EB

Mon., Sept. 12, 1:45 p.m. "The Molecular Pathways of Polyamine Catabolism in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines," a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology thesis defense seminar with Allison Pledgie; W1020 SPH. EB

Mon., Sept. 12, 4 p.m. "Consistent Multi-Tracer Simulations of a Holocene Abrupt-Climate Change Event," an Earth and Planetary Sciences seminar with Gavin Schmidt, NASA GISS; Olin Auditorium. HW

Mon., Sept. 12, 4 p.m. "Gathering in a Ruined City: Metaphor, Practice and Recovery in Post-Taiping Yangzhou," a History seminar with Tobie Meyer-Fong, JHU; 315 Gilman. HW

Tues., Sept. 13, 12:15 p.m. "Natural and Synthetic L1 Retrotransposons," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Jeffrey Han, SoM; 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Tues., Sept. 13, 3 p.m. "Reactions at the Mineral-Water Interface Affecting Heavy Metal Transport," a Geography and Environmental Engineering seminar with Dan Giammar, Washington University; 234 Ames. HW

Wed., Sept. 14, 11:30 a.m.. "Vertebrate Mesodermal Segmentation: A Genetic Approach in Zebrafish," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Sharon Amacher, University of California, Berkeley; 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Wed., Sept. 14, noon. "Children's Health and the Environment — The Problem and the Solution," a Center for a Livable Future seminar with Philip Landrigan, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine; W1030 SPH. EB

Wed., Sept. 14, 12:15 p.m. "The Goals of Health Care: Is Experience Overrated?" a Berman Bioethics Institute seminar with Peter Ubel, Ann Arbor VAMC/University of Michigan; 208 Hampton House. EB

Wed., Sept. 14, 12:15 p.m. "Disparities in Depression and Illegal Drug Use: Assessing Changes Over Time," a Mental Health seminar with Richard Miech, JHSPH; B14B Hampton House. EB

Wed., Sept. 14, 4 p.m. "Genome-Wide Approaches to the Analysis of Virulence in Toxoplasma gondii," an Infectious Diseases/Molecular Microbiology and Immunology special seminar with John Boothroyd, Stanford University School of Medicine; W3008 SPH. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, 8:30 a.m.. "Drug Overdose: Risk, Responses and Treatment Seeking Among Injection Drug Users (IDUS) in Baltimore, Maryland," an Epidemiology thesis defense seminar with Robin Pollini; W2030 SPH. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, 11 a.m.. "Bioengineering Approaches to Understanding and Stimulating Angiogenesis," a Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering seminar with Rich Price, University of Virginia; 110 Maryland. HW

Thurs., Sept. 15, noon. "Dendritic Cells and Their Cytokines at the Interface of Innate Resistance and Adaptive Immunity," an Infectious Diseases/Molecular Microbiology and Immunology special seminar with Giorgio Trinchieri, NIAID/NIH; W2030 SPH. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, noon. "Global Analysis of Protein Posttranslational Modifications," a Cell Biology seminar with Heng Zhu, SoM; Suite 2-200, 1830 Bldg. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, 1 p.m. "Diverse Roles for Activity-Regulated Genes in Brain Development and Synaptic Plasticity," a Neuroscience research seminar with Elly Nedivi; West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, 3 p.m. "What Can You Do with a Ph.D. in Science?" a Professional Development Office seminar with Wendy Sanders and Geoffrey Witham; West Lecture Hall (ground floor), WBSB. EB

Thurs., Sept. 15, 4 p.m. "Scan Statistics on Enron Graphs," an Applied Mathematics and Statistics seminar with Carey Priebe, JHU; 304 Whitehead. HW

Fri., Sept. 16, 2 p.m. "Examining Transitions in Weapon Carrying Behavior Among Adolescents in the United States," a Population and Family Health Sciences thesis defense seminar with Swapnil (Neil) Maniar; E4611 SPH. EB

Mon., Sept. 19, 12:15 p.m. "Translational Control of Cell Division," a Carnegie Institution Embryology seminar with Joel Richter, University of Massachusetts; 3520 San Martin Drive. HW

Mon., Sept. 19, 4 p.m. "An Enslaved Enlightenment; or Voltaire and the Ibo Zaire in the French Atlantic," a History seminar with Laurent Dubois, Michigan State University; 315 Gilman. HW

Mon., Sept. 19, 4 p.m. "How to Build an Earth System Model," an Earth and Planetary Sciences seminar with Raghu Murtugdde, University of Maryland, College Park; Olin Auditorium. HW

Mon., Sept. 19, 4 p.m. The David Bodian Seminar in Neuroscience — "Parallel Pathways and Local Circuits in Visual Cortex" with Edward Callaway, Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Sponsored by the Krieger Mind/Brain Institute. 338 Krieger. HW

 

Special Events

Wed., Sept. 14, 4 to 6 p.m. Grand opening of the Genome Café, a collaboration space for public health genomics researchers. A lecture from 4 to 5 p.m. in W1020 SPH, followed by a reception in the Genome Café. Sponsored by Biostatistics. W1020 SPH. EB

Wed., Sept. 14, 6 to 9:30 p.m. "Full Circle: Food's Journey, An Evening of Food, Conversation and Reflection," a forum and discussion on food and eating in America, with keynote speaker Gary Hirshberg of Stoneyfield Farm; Philip Landrigan, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine; Peter Hoffmann, chef/owner, Savoy Restaurant, NYC; Sidney Mintz, JHU Anthropology; and William Straus Jr., professor emeritus. Cost is $25. Co-sponsored by the Center for a Livable Future and the American Institute of Wine and Food, Baltimore/Md. Chapter. 410-244-0044 or aiwfbaltimore@yahoo.com. Center Stage, Pearlstone Theatre, 700 N. Calvert St.

Thurs., Sept. 15, noon to 3 p.m. "SOURCE's Annual Volunteer Fair," an opportunity for Baltimore-area nonprofits to come to the East Baltimore campus to recruit volunteers, interns and assistants for special projects; participants can build resumes/CVs by collaborating with community-based organizations. 1st floor, Anne M. Pinkard Bldg. EB Sat., Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m. BFSA Anniversary celebration, with dinner bar, live entertainment, cash bar and hors d'oeuvres. $35 for members and guests; $50 for non-members; and $20 for JHU students. For tickets call 410-516-6050. Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture.

Mon., Sept. 19, 8 p.m. 2005 Constitutional Forum with Richard Epstein, University of Chicago. Epstein will present "Public Use v. Public Benefit: What's the Difference in a Word?" examining the Supreme Court's June 23, 2005, decision upholding the right of government to condemn private property for a "public purpose." The forum is supported by the George Huntington Williams Memorial Lectureship and sponsored by the Office of the President; Political Science; and the Institute for Policy Studies. Talk will be followed by a question-and-answer session. (See article, "Constitutional forum focuses on Connecticut eminent domain case," above.) Hodson Auditorium. HW

 

Sports

Tues., Sept. 13, 7 p.m. Women's Soccer, vs. St. Mary's; Homewood Field. HW

Fri., Sept. 16, and Sat., Sept. 17, 3 p.m. Maryland Dill Volleyball Tournament; Goldfarb Gymnasium, Athletic Center. HW

Sat., Sept. 17, 1 p.m. Women's Soccer, vs. Haverford; Homewood Field. HW

Sat., Sept. 17, 4 p.m. Field Hockey, vs. St. Mary's; Homewood Field. HW

 

Colloquia | Film/Video | Lectures | Open House | Seminars | Special Events | Sports |

 
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