Nobel Laureates (Audio)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel Laureate Sidney Altman, Sterling Professor at Yale University, for a discussion of Ribonucleic Acid(RNA). Topics covered include: the importance of basic research creativity in the sciences, the qualities and skills necessary for scientific problem solving, the evolution of Altman's career, his Nobel research unraveling the mystery of RNA's function, and the implications of his discovery for understanding the origins of life and preventing disease. Drawing on his experience as Dean of Yale College in the 1980's, he also discusses reforming undergraduate science education.

Series: "Conversations with History" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 20377]

Nobel Laureate Sidney Altman, Professor of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, gives a general description of the problem of the origin of life on Earth with some detail about what we know now and our knowledge of RNase P, an enzyme with a catalytic RNA subunit. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Science] [Show ID: 20223]

Nobel Laureate physicist Leon Lederman takes a hard look at science education. The crisis in science education (pre-K--14) has been widely recognized at least since the report "A Nation at Risk" was published in 1983. This report accompanies a huge number of later reports all read and appreciated but never implemented. There is good reason for new optimism, but the persistent failure to implement the well understood cures must be understood before we can capitalize on the accumulating wisdom. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 17596]

Leon Lederman was co-winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1988. He recalls his life after being discharged from the U.S. Army after WWII. From a returning troop ship docking at the Battery in New York, he hastened uptown to register as a graduate student in physics at Columbia University. His story sketches major events from there to the Nobel Prize celebration for the discovery of the muon neutrino, proving that there are at least two families of neutrinos. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Science] [Show ID: 17595]

Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu shares the challenges she has faced in maintaining peace in Guatemala with the audience gathered by the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego. Series: "Peace exChange -- Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego" [Public Affairs] [Show ID: 17670]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk. On the occasion of the publication in the United States of his new novel, "The Museum of Innocence," Pamuk reflects on his intellectual journey, including the influence of his parents, writers who shaped his world view, the "huzun" of Istanbul, writing, and recurring themes in his novels. Series: "Conversations with History" [Humanities] [Show ID: 17787]

No mystery is bigger than dark energy — the elusive force that makes up three-quarters of the Universe and is causing it to expand at an accelerating rate. Join a panel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists who use phenomena such as exploding stars and gravitational lenses to explore the dark cosmos. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory " [Science] [Show ID: 17426]

No mystery is bigger than dark energy — the elusive force that makes up three-quarters of the Universe and is causing it to expand at an accelerating rate. Join a panel of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientists who use phenomena such as exploding stars and gravitational lenses to explore the dark cosmos. Series: "Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory " [Science] [Show ID: 17426]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel Laureate Leon M.

Lederman. Tracing his intellectual journey, Professor Lederman discusses the qualities of a scientist, the early years of particle physics, the evolution of his own research interests, the discovery of the muon neutrino, the importance of that discovery and its implications for cosmology. He recalls the dynamism and excitement of his years in particle physics and the experience of winning the Nobel Prize. Drawing on his recent work, Professor Lederman also offers a critique of Secondary school science education and calls for a transformation of the curriculum.

Series: "Conversations with History" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 17601]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Nobel Laureate Leon M.

Lederman. Tracing his intellectual journey, Professor Lederman discusses the qualities of a scientist, the early years of particle physics, the evolution of his own research interests, the discovery of the muon neutrino, the importance of that discovery and its implications for cosmology. He recalls the dynamism and excitement of his years in particle physics and the experience of winning the Nobel Prize. Drawing on his recent work, Professor Lederman also offers a critique of Secondary school science education and calls for a transformation of the curriculum.

Series: "Conversations with History" [Science] [Education] [Show ID: 17601]