Please join us this Winter as we continue the inaugural year of the Stanford Pioneers in Science series. These events celebrate the lives and contributions of Stanford faculty members who have been awarded Nobel Prizes, National Medals of Science or Technology, and MacArthur Fellowships.
Each evening will be introduced by a distinguished colleague of the prizewinner, who will put the scientist's accomplishments in context. Then the prizewinner will be joined by interviewer Paul Costello for a wide-ranging conversation about the honoree's discovery, professional career, values, and advice for aspiring scientists. Plenty of time will be allowed at the conclusion of each event for questions to be posed by members of the audience.
This series is your chance to engage with some of the most consequential thinkers of our day—people who have helped to shape the scientific, technological, and economic fabric of our modern world.
The Stanford Pioneers in Science Series is sponsored by the Stanford Historical Society, School of Medicine, the Hoover Institution, Office of Public Affairs and Stanford Continuing Studies.
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CARL DJERASSI
Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus
Carl Djerassi is known as the father of the birth control pill, developer of insect controls and antihistamines, founder of biomedical companies, educator, and internationally bestselling novelist. Born in Vienna, he moved to the United States as a youngster, graduating from Kenyon College and receiving a PhD from the University of Wisconsin. A Professor of Chemistry at Stanford since 1959, he also was President of Syntex Research and co-founder and CEO of Zoecon Corporation, a company dedicated to developing novel approaches to insect control.
Djerassi has been awarded first Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the Priestley Medal, the National Medal of Technology, and the National Medal of Science (by President Nixon, in spite of being on his "enemies list" at the time). A major art collector, Djerassi also founded the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in Woodside, and is the author of five novels (the best known of which are Cantor's Dilemma and The Bourbaki Gambit) and eight plays.
Paul Wender, the Francis W. Bergstrom Professor of Chemistry at Stanford, will introduce Carl Djerassi's scientific achievements and their impacts on society. Wender is an internationally renowned organic chemist and recipient of Stanford's top teaching awards.
STANFORD PIONEERS IN SCIENCE SERIES: 2008 — 2009
FALL QUARTER 2008
Sidney Drell, who won a MacArthur Fellowship for his contributions to theoretical physics and international arms control (October 21)
Robert Sapolsky, who won a MacArthur Fellowship for research that revolutionized our understanding of physical and emotional stress (November 12)
WINTER QUARTER 2009
Carl Djerassi, who won the National Medal of Science whose research led to the birth control pill, and the National Medal of Technology for new approaches to pest control (January 14)
Daphne Koller, who won a MacArthur Fellowship for extraordinary advancements in the next generation of computer technology (February 11)
Burton Richter, who won the Nobel Prize for discovering a new subatomic particle, taking us a step closer to understanding what the universe is made of (March 4)
SPRING QUARTER 2009
Kenneth Arrow, who won the Nobel Prize for his contributions to economic equilibrium theory and welfare theory (April 15)
Paul Berg, who won the Nobel Prize for research that laid the groundwork for recombinant DNA technology (May 20)