Green Fluorescent Protein: Lighting Up Life - January 28, 2010
Martin Chalfie, chair and professor of biological sciences at Columbia University, shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Y. Tsien for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). GFP has become a fundamental tool in cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, neurobiology and the medical sciences. It has permitted scientists to study damaged cells in Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and genetic disorders. It also has many applications i
Green Fluorescent Protein: Lighting Up Life - January 28, 2010
Martin Chalfie, chair and professor of biological sciences at Columbia University, shared the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Osamu Shimomura and Roger Y. Tsien for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein (GFP). GFP has become a fundamental tool in cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, neurobiology and the medical sciences. It has permitted scientists to study damaged cells in Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and genetic disorders. It also has many applications i
The Fruits of the Genome for Society - February 17, 2010
Lunch 'n Learn presentation: The sequence of the human genome, the primary goal of the Human Genome Project, was achieved just a few years ago. Because our genomes are a string of 3 billion sequences of four chemical letters in the DNA polymer, the ability to obtain genomic sequences depended on revolutionary progress not just in DNA chemistry but also on the equally revolutionary advances in speed, capacity and versatility of digital computers. By far the most prominent result of the determinat
The Fruits of the Genome for Society PDF - February 17, 2010
Lunch 'n Learn presentation: The sequence of the human genome, the primary goal of the Human Genome Project, was achieved just a few years ago. Because our genomes are a string of 3 billion sequences of four chemical letters in the DNA polymer, the ability to obtain genomic sequences depended on revolutionary progress not just in DNA chemistry but also on the equally revolutionary advances in speed, capacity and versatility of digital computers. By far the most prominent result of the determinat
An App A Day: Tasty Apps for iPhone and Android - February 24, 2010
Lunch 'n Learn presentation: Smartphones are the new platform, and apps are the core. At the start of the new decade, Apple reported that the App Store for iPhone users has surpassed 100,000 applications, and users have downloaded over 2 billion apps -- not bad for a new market that was created only a year and a half earlier. Meanwhile, Google's Android Market doubled over the last quarter to around 20,000 apps.
In this talk Doug Dixon explores the range of apps being developed for these new pl
Princeton University's 2010 Baccalaureate ceremony
Commencement activities start on Sunday with the Baccalaureate ceremony in the University Chapel. This University convocation begins with an academic procession of faculty, trustees, administrators and undergraduate degree candidates. The interfaith program, which lasts approximately one hour, includes music, prayers and readings from a variety of religious traditions, as well as an address by a guest speaker. This year's speaker is Jeff Bezos '86, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.c
Princeton University's 2010 Baccalaureate ceremony
Commencement activities start on Sunday with the Baccalaureate ceremony in the University Chapel. This University convocation begins with an academic procession of faculty, trustees, administrators and undergraduate degree candidates. The interfaith program, which lasts approximately one hour, includes music, prayers and readings from a variety of religious traditions, as well as an address by a guest speaker. This year's speaker is Jeff Bezos '86, founder and chief executive officer of Amazon.c
Opening Exercises: A University Convocation - Class of 2014
Challenging the freshman class to embrace two ideas that might seem to be in contradiction, Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman told incoming students to spend their Princeton career building deep expertise in a specialty while also developing broad understanding.
The new students and their families -- joined by new and returning graduate students, other undergraduates, faculty and staff -- filled the University Chapel and two simulcast sites for the interfaith service that traditionally ma
Opening Exercises: A University Convocation - Class of 2014
Challenging the freshman class to embrace two ideas that might seem to be in contradiction, Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman told incoming students to spend their Princeton career building deep expertise in a specialty while also developing broad understanding.
The new students and their families -- joined by new and returning graduate students, other undergraduates, faculty and staff -- filled the University Chapel and two simulcast sites for the interfaith service that traditionally ma
Opening Exercises: A University Convocation - Class of 2014
Challenging the freshman class to embrace two ideas that might seem to be in contradiction, Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman told incoming students to spend their Princeton career building deep expertise in a specialty while also developing broad understanding.
The new students and their families -- joined by new and returning graduate students, other undergraduates, faculty and staff -- filled the University Chapel and two simulcast sites for the interfaith service that traditionally ma
Opening Exercises: A University Convocation - Class of 2014
Challenging the freshman class to embrace two ideas that might seem to be in contradiction, Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman told incoming students to spend their Princeton career building deep expertise in a specialty while also developing broad understanding.
The new students and their families -- joined by new and returning graduate students, other undergraduates, faculty and staff -- filled the University Chapel and two simulcast sites for the interfaith service that traditionally ma
Avi Wigderson, Institute for Advanced Study: Part 1 - "Algorithm: A common language for nature, man,
"A Worldview through the Computational Lens III", part 1. From Google to Genomics, the notion of an algorithm underlies much of the "computational universe" we live in today. The algorithm is the fundamental object of study in theoretical computer science. The power and limits of efficient algorithms hold the key to such diverse questions as "What can we know about the world?", "What is intelligence?", and "Can poker be played over the telephone?" A Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture (cosponsored by
Avi Wigderson, Institute for Advanced Study: Part 2 - "Time, space, and the cosmology of computation
"A Worldview through the Computational Lens III", part 2. From Google to Genomics, the notion of an algorithm underlies much of the "computational universe" we live in today. The algorithm is the fundamental object of study in theoretical computer science. The power and limits of efficient algorithms hold the key to such diverse questions as "What can we know about the world?", "What is intelligence?", and "Can poker be played over the telephone?" A Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture (cosponsored by
Avi Wigderson, Institute for Advanced Study: Part 3 - "Cryptography: Secrets, lies, knowledge, and t
"A Worldview through the Computational Lens III", part 3. From Google to Genomics, the notion of an algorithm underlies much of the "computational universe" we live in today. The algorithm is the fundamental object of study in theoretical computer science. The power and limits of efficient algorithms hold the key to such diverse questions as "What can we know about the world?", "What is intelligence?", and "Can poker be played over the telephone?" A Louis Clark Vanuxem Lecture (cosponsored by
Christopher Eisgruber, Princeton University: "Religious Freedom and the Constitution" - March 9, 200
Marci A. Hamilton, The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Erik Michael Mazur, Bucknell University; and Winnifred F. Sullivan, University at Buffalo Law School, comment on the recent book by Christopher L. Eisgruber and Lawrence G. Sager, Religious Freedom and the Constitution. Christopher L. Eisgruber, Provost of Princeton University, responds and answers questions from the audience. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Religion.
A Conversation with Steve Forbes
On November 5, 2010, Steve Forbes, the chairman and CEO of Forbes Media, came to Carnegie Mellon University to provide an analysis of the recent midterm elections. Forbes, who was a Republican presidential candidate in 1996 and 2000, shared his perspective on the elections, the economy, and healthcare with the Carnegie Mellon community.
The speech and subsequent Q & A were moderated by Carnegie Mellon president Jared L. Cohon.
"What is Prayer?" - A symposium featuring Sister Mary Margaret Funk, David D. Hall, Carol Zaleski an
Prayer has been practiced in all religious traditions and is today a topic of much interest. Yet prayer is poorly understood. Conceived as a private act, its social and cultural dimensions are particularly neglected. Regarded as a tool for health and happiness, prayer is also shaped increasingly by popular writers, the media, and even by scholars claiming to study it scientifically. This symposium brings together a panel of scholars and practitioners to discuss the historical, cultural, social,
Alex Halderman, Princeton University: "Securing the Electronic Ballot"
In the wake of the 2000 Florida recount debacle, many states turned to computer voting machines to increase election accuracy and security. Many computer scientists have long been skeptical of such machines, but only recently have researchers had access to them for study. In in his talk he describes how his colleagues and he examined several widely used electronic voting systems and discovered that they were susceptible to attacks that could alter election results and compromise the secrecy of
Alex Halderman, Princeton University: "Securing the Electronic Ballot"
In the wake of the 2000 Florida recount debacle, many states turned to computer voting machines to increase election accuracy and security. Many computer scientists have long been skeptical of such machines, but only recently have researchers had access to them for study. In in his talk he describes how his colleagues and he examined several widely used electronic voting systems and discovered that they were susceptible to attacks that could alter election results and compromise the secrecy of
24 - Asymmetric information: auctions and the winner's curse
We discuss auctions. We first distinguish two extremes: common values and private values. We hold a common value auction in class and discover the winner's curse, the winner tends to overpay. We discuss why this occurs and how to avoid it: you should bid as if you knew that your bid would win; that is, as if you knew your initial estimate of the common value was the highest. This leads you to bid much below your initial estimate. Then we discuss four forms of auction: first-price sealed-bid, sec
