Robinson Professors
Robert Hazen, Robinson Professor of Earth Sciences, presented keynote lectures on “What Minerals Were Present at Life’s Origins?” at the Astrobiology Science Conference in Atlanta, and on “Mineral-Molecule Interactions” at the American Chemical Society meeting in San Diego.
Carma Hinton, Robinson Professor of Visual Culture and Chinese Studies, had a number of her films screened in Beijing as part of a documentary film series about the representation of China by Western filmmakers. The series was sponsored by the Italian Embassy in Beijing through its Italian Cultural Institute. The titles included “Small Happiness: Women of a Chinese Village”; “Abode of Illusion: The Life and Art of Chang Dai-ch’ien”; “Creative Exchanges: Sights and Sounds of the Silk Road”; and “Yin Yu Tang: A Chinese Home.” Her film, “The Gate of Heavenly Peace,” was screened at the University of Washington as part of a lecture and film series titled “Images in Crisis: The Politics of Visual Representation in the Twentieth Century and Beyond.”
John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies, published his newest book, “Postelection Conflict Management in Nigeria: The Challenges of National Unity.” He also presented a lecture to the U.S. Department of State’s Conflict and Stabilization Office on “Postelection Conflict Management in Nigeria,” testified to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom on “Religious Extremism in Nigeria” and presented a lecture to the World Bank’s Africa Region Office on “Religious Extremism in Nigeria.”
Steven Pearlstein, Robinson Professor of Public and International Affairs, presented the keynote address at the Seventh Annual Award for Journalism in Recognition of Architecture/Engineering Achievement at the Northern Virginia Post of the Society of American Military Engineers. He also moderated a discussion with international business and policy leaders regarding financial and economic trends around the globe at the Export-Import Bank of the United States 2012 Annual Conference and presented the Department of Public and International Affairs’ annual Gortner Lecture, “The Politics of Polarization: A Modern Tragedy of the Commons.”
James Trefil, Robinson Professor of Physics, presented the opening lectures on scientific methodology at the Judicial Symposium on Scientific Evidence in the Courts held by Mason’s Law and Economics Center. His topics were “The Scientific Method,” “Elements of Scientific Decision Making” and “The History of the Use of Expert Witnesses.”