Stanford professor to deliver Eyring lectures at ASU

Bioluminescence has fascinated scientists since ancient times; the green fluorescence from agitated jellyfish is an example and comes from green fluorescent protein (GFP). Since the discovery in the mid-1990s that GFP can be expressed in essentially any organism, GFPs have become indispensable tools as genetically encoded fluorescent reporters. A bewildering array of variants has been developed leading to a wide pallet of colors and photo-switching characteristics that are essential for super-resolution microscopy.

Camille Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University Steven G. Boxer, a member of the National Academy of Sciences with many international awards, will be the featured Eyring Lecture Series speaker Nov. 14 and 15 at Arizona State University's Tempe campus, speaking about GFP and its possibilities.

The general lecture on Nov. 14, titled “GFP — the Green Revolution Continues,” will be presented at 6:30 p.m. in the Bateman Physical Sciences building, room 153, on the Tempe campus.

Boxer investigates the structure and function of biological systems using many tools and methods, and with a strong physical perspective. Boxer’s group invents experimental methods and develops theory as needed, using a wide range of chemical and recombinant DNA methods to modify proteins and monitor or modulate their function. 

The Eyring lectures are part of an interdisciplinary distinguished lecture series dedicated to stimulating discussion by renowned scientists who are at the cutting edge of their respective fields. Each series consists of a leadoff presentation to help communicate the excitement and the challenge of science to the university and community. Past lecturers have included Nobel laureates Ahmed Zewail, Jean-Marie Lehn, Harry Gray, Richard Smalley, Yuan T. Lee, Richard Schrock and, most recently awarded, John Goodenough.

The technical lecture, "Electric Fields and Enzyme Catalysis," will take place Nov. 15 at 1:30 p.m. in the Biodesign B auditorium, room 105, on the Tempe campus.

The lecture series is named in honor of the late Leroy Eyring, an ASU Regents Professor of chemistry and former department chair, whose instructional and research accomplishments and professional leadership at ASU helped to bring the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry into international prominence. The Eyring Materials Center and the Navrotsky Eyring Center for Materials of the Universe at ASU are named in his honor.