Spring Break
Biotech reaction put to debate in lecture series
n Ethical issues of trans-generic crop use just one of the topics discussed in campus series
Meaghan Daniels
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: News
Is it possible to have a virus-resistant tomato? Could the genetic engineering of crop plants really help feed the poor in developing countries? These are just two of the questions that will be addressed in a new lecture series coming to the OSU campus.
The OSU Horning Endowment, in the Humanities Lecture Series, will collaborate with OSU Outreach in Biotechnology's 'Food for Thought Series' to bring together seven speakers to address biotechnology issues. This is the first time OSU Horning Endowment and OSU Outreach in Biotechnoogy collaborated with each other to put on a lecture series.
The speakers come from across the globe and include scientists, historians and a legal scholar. Commercial issues in food technologies, local food traditions and molecular gastronomy will also be discussed by the speakers.
Mary Jo Nye, a Horning professor of history, and Steven Strauss, a forest science professor and head of the outreach in biotechnology program, organized the series. They have built up this lecture series over the past two years.
Originally, Nye and Strauss had organized separate lecture series. However, the professors discovered that they had planned to host many of the same speakers and decided to partner their efforts.
"The Horning Lectures have always been about bridging the gap between the humanities and the sciences," Nye said. "So what better way to do that than by bringing together the 'Food for Thought' series, which tends to be focused on scientific issues with a historical perspective."
Nye, who is retiring in June 2008, has always been interested in the history and science of food and decided that this subject would be perfect for her final Horning lecture series.
"I liked doing a series that was collaborative and that could capture a broad interest," she said. "I think it is going to bring some very distinguished individuals to the campus and inform the students, faculty and community on current issues. The history behind everything and the new developments that are being made."
The OSU Horning Endowment, in the Humanities Lecture Series, will collaborate with OSU Outreach in Biotechnology's 'Food for Thought Series' to bring together seven speakers to address biotechnology issues. This is the first time OSU Horning Endowment and OSU Outreach in Biotechnoogy collaborated with each other to put on a lecture series.
The speakers come from across the globe and include scientists, historians and a legal scholar. Commercial issues in food technologies, local food traditions and molecular gastronomy will also be discussed by the speakers.
Mary Jo Nye, a Horning professor of history, and Steven Strauss, a forest science professor and head of the outreach in biotechnology program, organized the series. They have built up this lecture series over the past two years.
Originally, Nye and Strauss had organized separate lecture series. However, the professors discovered that they had planned to host many of the same speakers and decided to partner their efforts.
"The Horning Lectures have always been about bridging the gap between the humanities and the sciences," Nye said. "So what better way to do that than by bringing together the 'Food for Thought' series, which tends to be focused on scientific issues with a historical perspective."
Nye, who is retiring in June 2008, has always been interested in the history and science of food and decided that this subject would be perfect for her final Horning lecture series.
"I liked doing a series that was collaborative and that could capture a broad interest," she said. "I think it is going to bring some very distinguished individuals to the campus and inform the students, faculty and community on current issues. The history behind everything and the new developments that are being made."
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