Past President Recognition by Ed Rivera

"A Hard Day in the Life of a Soft Cell," Jeffrey J. Fredberg, Ph.D., Harvard bioengineering professor. With every beat of the heart, inflation of the lung, or peristalsis of the gut, cell types of diverse function are subjected to substantial stretch. But what physical laws govern the abilities of the cytoskeleton to deform, contract, and remodel? Fredberg, Ph.D. is a professor of bioengineering and physiology in the Molecular and Integrative Physiological Sciences (MIPS) program at Harvard University’s School of Public Health. According to Dr. Fredberg, new data support the idea that the cytoskeleton is at once a crowded chemical space and a fragile soft material in which the effects of biochemistry, molecular crowding, and physical forces are complex and inseparable. Dr. Fredberg observes that these conditions conspire to yield remarkably simple phenomenological laws, which appear to be universal--for a striking intersection between the worlds of cell biology and soft matter physics.

Founders' Day Celebration and Awards Senior Vice Chancellor Barbara Couture will present the Carl A. Donaldson Award for Excellence in Management and the Floyd S. Oldt Award for Exceptional Service to the University.   Reservations are due Wednesday, February 18, 2009. You may choose to bring your lunch or have the University Grand Buffet for $9 University Grand Buffet: mixed field of greens with assorted dressing, Greek salad, fruit salad, orange and jicama salad, grilled chicken breast, cheese and broccoli soup, dinner rolls and fudge brownies. Coffee, water and tea will be available for everyone.

by Kentaro Miwa, Entomology Graduate Student

A panel discussion as a part of Eating Disorders Awareness Week activities sponsored by the Eating Disorders Education and Prevention student organization.