Event Details
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Date & Time
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2023 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Department
Mathematics
Location
Cataldo Hall Globe Room
Contact/Registration
Arnold Distinguished Professor, Dr. Melody Alsaker
Event Type & Tags
About This Event
Dr. Eric Klavins, Professor and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Washington, will talk on Tues. 3/21 at 5 PM in the Globe Room of Cataldo Hall. A multi-disciplinary panel discussion will follow at 6 PM. This event is hosted by the Arnold Distinguished Professor, Dr. Melody Alsaker.The behavior of a living cell is determined by its DNA, much like the behavior of a computer is determined by its software. How good is this analogy? Do cells have memory, program variables, and input/output signals? Can you write if-then statements and for loops with DNA, RNA, and protein? Should we one day expect programming cells to be as straightforward as programming computers? This talk will explore the similarities and differences between living cells and computers and introduce the exciting field of synthetic biology whose practitioners have made great strides in learning to program biology. Lab experiments with microbes have repurposed growth, death, mating, immune systems, and microbial communities to build entirely new behaviors. The talk will also touch on the ethics of reprogramming biology and then examine some practical applications of this work, ranging from producing carbon neutral jet fuel to discovering new therapeutics.