Dr. Carl Djerassi, a writer and professor of chemistry at Stanford who first synthesized the chemical used in the birth-control pill, will give a talk entitled "Noble Science/Nobel Lust: Revealing Tribal Secrets" on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 7:30pm in Rm 10-250. The event is co-sponsored by the Technology and Culture Forum, the Graduate Student Council and the Office of Graduate Education.
Professor Djerassi is the author of many publications on the chemistry of natural products (steroids, alkaloids, antibiotics, lipids, and terpenoids), and on applications of physical measurements and computer artificial intelligence techniques to organic chemical problems. He has also written several short stories and novels (Cantor's Dilemma, The Bourbaki Gambit) and two autobiographies. His honors include the National Medal of Science, 15 honorary doctorates and other awards for the first synthesis of a steroid oral contraceptive.
Respondents will be Albert Meyer, Hitachi American Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, and Professor Jonathan King of biology. Professor Isaac Colbert, senior associate dean of the Graduate School, will deliver introductory remarks, while Senior Lecturer Caroline Whitbeck of mechanical engineering will be moderator.
The first 250 students with an ID will receive a free copy of one of Dr. Djerassi's books. A reception will follow. For more information on this and other TCF-sponsored talks, see the Web page at
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 23, 1996.
