Fall ‘Ideas to Go’ series features researcher’s-eye view of discovery

By STEPHANIE GUNTER
UNC News Services

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education will offer its "Ideas to Go" series – billed as an opportunity to "engage with some of Carolina’s brightest minds" – beginning in October.

The series is held in conjunction with Endeavors, UNC’s research magazine.

UNC faculty members will present their research ideas in four evening sessions, all running from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Registration is available to the public online, by phone or by mail. The cost is $50 for all four or $15 for individual sessions.

Those attending will have the chance to ask questions after each session. Following is a schedule:

•  "The Origins of Life in the Universe," Oct. 7. Dr. Holden Thorp, professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of UNC’s Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, will present. Thorp’s research explores DNA, including the commercial possibilities of electrochemical detection technology in the analysis of DNA, RNA and proteins.
  
  
• "Organ and Tissue Repair: Can Stem Cells Make It Happen?", Oct. 14. Dr. Lola Reid, professor in the UNC School of Medicine’s department of cell and molecular physiology, will present. She is an internationally renowned expert in liver biology, extracellular matrix chemistry and biology, and bioartificial livers, with more than 300 publications and 50 patents.
  
  
• "Coming to Terms with Life," Oct. 21. Dr. Susan Wolf, the Edna J. Koury professor of philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, will present. Wolf’s research focuses on relationships among happiness, morality and meaning in life. She is the author of "Freedom Within Reason."
  
  
• "How I Met and Dated Miss Emily Dickinson," Nov. 4. Dr. Philip Gura, the William S. Newman distinguished professor of American literature and culture in the College of Arts and Sciences, will present. In 2000, Gura purchased what many believe to be the second known photograph of the poet Dickinson. His lecture will discuss the long process of authenticating the image, the initial doubts concerning the photo and international publicity of the photo.
  

For more information or to register, click on http://fridaycenter.unc.edu/cni/ideas.htm or contact Mary Morrison at mmorriso@email.unc.edu or (919) 843-4483.

- 30 -

(Gunter, of Raleigh, is a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication.)

Friday Center contact: Mary Morrison, (919) 843-4483 or mmorriso@email.unc.edu