The Duke Digest - October 9, 2012
In Today's Issue:
- Karl Rove, Robert Gibbs to Face Off in Foreign Policy Debate at Duke
- Duke Prof to Participate in Congressional Briefing on Role of Ecosystem Science in National Security
- Duke Newseum Event: What Biography Reveals about the Presidential Candidates
- Duke Researcher: Global Climate Patterns Not So Complex to Predict
- Research: Blue Light Controls Gene Expression
KARL ROVE, ROBERT GIBBS TO FACE OFF IN FOREIGN POLICY DEBATE AT DUKE
Veteran presidential advisers Karl Rove and Robert Gibbs will square off in a foreign policy debate at Duke University's Page Auditorium at 5 p.m. Oct. 22.
The debate, presented by the Ambassador Dave and Kay Phillips Family International Lectureship, will address "What's at Stake for America's Global Role in the 2012 Election" and will be moderated by Duke professor Peter Feaver.
This event is well-timed, as the presidential debate on foreign policy will air just hours after the Duke event.
The event is free and open to the public, but tickets will be required for entry. Tickets will be made available Oct. 10, and can be obtained in person at the Duke Box Office in the Bryan Center or, for a $6 processing fee, at www.tickets.duke.edu. Parking will be available for $5 in the Bryan Center parking garage.
Read More:
Karl Rove, Robert Gibbs to Face Off in Foreign Policy Debate (Sanford.Duke.edu)
DUKE PROF TO PARTICIPATE IN CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON ROLE OF ECOSYSTEM SCIENCE ON NATIONAL SECURITY
Dr. Avner Vengosh, professor of earth and ocean sciences at Duke, will present his research on the water-energy nexus (coal ash, coal mining, shale gas and fracking) during a congressional briefing next week. The briefing, hosted by the Association of Ecosystem Research Centers, will focus on the role of ecosystem science on national security and will take place in room 2325 of the Rayburn House Office Building at 9:30am on October 18. Dr. Vengosh's talk is titled "Environmental Consequences of Past and Future Energy Production in the United States."
More information will be included in next week's Duke Digest.
Read More:
Abstract of Dr. Vengosh's Presentation (pdf)
Dr. Avner Vengosh's Website (duke.edu)
DUKE NEWSEUM EVENT: WHAT BIOGRAPHY REVEALS ABOUT THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
Presidential elections are contests between biographies as much as debates over issues. The candidates’ characters, values and experiences are sifted and weighed as qualifications for leadership -- and for signs that their life stories are in tune with the American narrative. As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney enter the last weeks of the campaign, how have their extraordinary biographies figured in the 2012 presidential race? How reliable are their own depictions of their values and views? How can journalists, academics and voters mine the candidates' personal stories for insights into how they would govern? How much do we really know about each man?
On Tuesday, October 23, the Duke Divinity School, the Sanford School of Public Policy, and Duke DC presents a panel of experts who will explore the personal side of the public contest for the presidency. The event will be held from 6:30pm-9:00pm at the Newseum.
Read More:
Event Info (Duke Alumni Association)
DUKE RESEARCHER: GLOBAL CLIMATE PATTERNS NOT SO COMPLEX TO PREDICT
While
climate scientists design intricate and complex models of global
climates that require banks of super computers to run for weeks, a Duke
University engineer believes he has developed a much simpler way to
predict the Earth’s climate patterns.
Bejan's research was supported by the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Read More:
Global Climate Patterns Not So Complex to Predict (Pratt.duke.edu)
RESEARCH: BLUE LIGHT CONTROLS GENE EXPRESSION
Duke University bioengineers have developed a system for ordering genes to produce proteins using blue light.
This new approach could greatly improve the ability of researchers and physicians to control gene expression, which is the process by which genes give instructions for the production of proteins key to all living cells. The advance, they said, could prove invaluable in clinical settings as well as in basic science laboratories. The new system can also control where the genes are expressed in space, which becomes especially important for researchers attempting to bioengineer living tissues.
The Duke experiments were supported by a Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation and a Director’s New Innovator Award from the National Institutes of Health.
Read More:
Duke Blue Light Controls Gene Expression (Pratt.duke.edu)