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Speaker Series
DISCOVERY SPEAKER SERIES
A monthly exploration into the lives of those who have achieved great things. Student interviews and an open public forum for questions about what they did, how they did it, and what they might do differently next time.
Thursday, 7:00pm
February 26, 2009
Fifth in a series now being held at Friday Harbor House in the San Juan Room
A Focused Life: Dennis Willows
Neuroscientist and Research Biologist
Interviewed by:
- Grant Schwinge, Spring Street International School, grade 12
- Robin Lohrey, Spring Street International School, grade 10
- Austin Scheffer, Friday Harbor High School, grade 12
- Host: Mark Anderson, CEO, Strategic News Service
Dennis Willows (right) has spent his life researching how nerves, acting in groups, lead to specific behaviors. Today, his research has “advanced” from studies of escape behavior in marine nudibranchs to how nerve nets can help us weed out the extraneous and focus on “high-value” sensory inputs.
After getting a Yale University degree in Physics, and a PhD in Neuroscience at University of Oregon, Dennis focused his research lab on how brain cells interconnect and communicate chemically, to generate coherent patterns of electrical/chemical activity that drive behavior.
After a stint as Director of the Neurobiology Program at U.S. National Science Foundation in Washington DC, and later as National Institutes of Health-Jacob Javits Scholar, he gained a sense of the roles of the federal government in support of research in the United States. He has been awarded a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, a William Hoar Lectureship (University of British Columbia), and is a University of Oregon Distinguished Alumnus.
Dennis has written over 100 scientific publications and several books on nervous system processes underlying learning. He SCUBA dove under the Antarctic ice at McMurdo Station and enjoys flying, music, and volunteer time as skipper of the University of Washington research vessel RV Centennial. He was Professor and Chair of Biology University of Washington and Director of Friday Harbor Laboratories from 1972-2005.
Past Speakers included:
January 22, 2009
The Face of Business in Japan and China Henry Wendt, Global CEO, Asian business leader. He is the former Chairman of what is now GlaxoSmithKline, a global pharmaceutical company. Living in Japan, and running companies in China and throughout Asia, Henry has also acquired a unique perspective on what it takes to succeed in the East. In addition to nearly four decades’ experience in the international pharmaceutical, health care products and services industry, Henry was Founder and Chairman of Global Health Care Partners.
May 29, 2008
Sidney Rittenberg, author of “The Man Who Stayed Behind”
My Story: From Mao to Microsoft
Interviewed by:
Evan Anderson, Spring Street International School
Sonja Anderson, Spring Street International School
Wynne Bernard, Friday Harbor High School
Host: Mark Anderson, CEO, Strategic News Service
June 19, 2008
Christina Orchid, James Beard Award-Winning Chef, entrepreneur and author.
November 6, 2008
Mark Anderson, CEO/Publisher – Strategic News Service, entrepreneur, technologist, consultant and National Public Radio (NPR) commentator.
Predicting the Global Economic Collapse & What Next?