Institute of Technology hosts Nobel laureate Oct. 1–2

Dr. Roderick MacKinnon is the featured Nobel laureate for the Honeywell-Nobel Initiative event on October 1–2 at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The University of Minnesota is one of only 11 universities worldwide, and five in the United States, selected to participate in this program.

Awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discoveries concerning the molecular mechanisms in cell membranes, MacKinnon will deliver a lecture on “Electricity in Biology” at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 1 at the University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center, Memorial Hall. The event is free and open to the public. The lecture will also be webcast live.

The lecture, which will serve as the centerpiece of his two-day visit with university students, highlights the modern understanding of electrical systems in living organisms, specifically the electricity in living cells. MacKinnon also will explain how this topic exemplifies the strange and unexpected manner in which scientific ideas evolve.

In addition to the lecture, McKinnon will be involved in several other campus events including speaking in an undergraduate chemistry class, discussing research with graduate students and meeting with faculty. These events, offered through the Honeywell-Nobel Initiative, provide the unique opportunity for students and faculty to interact with Nobel laureates in an intimate setting to gain insight into what it means to be an innovator in science.

The schedule of public events includes the lecture, an interactive Honeywell Traveling Technology Experience (TTE) and an exhibit of Institute of Technology graduate student research.

The Honeywell-Nobel Initiative is a global education effort sponsored by Honeywell (NYSE:HON). Launched in 2006, it is designed to connect university students across the globe with Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and physics. The initiative combines on-campus events, interactive content and broadcast programming to link one generation of leading scientists with the development of the next. The event at the University of Minnesota is presented in cooperation with the university’s Institute of Technology.

Currently at Rockefeller University, MacKinnon is the John D. Rockefeller Jr. professor in the laboratory of molecular neurobiology and biophysics and investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He received his undergraduate degree from Brandeis University, a medical degree from Tufts University and training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School. MacKinnon is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and a recipient of numerous scientific awards.