colloquy

Colloquy to Highlight Global Challenges at Intersection of Politics and Technology
TROY, N.Y., May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On May 18, Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute will host a discussion about global challenges at the
intersection of politics and technology, featuring four prominent leaders
who bring unique perspectives to bear on these critical issues. The public
colloquy will be moderated by Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson and
will include the Institute's three Commencement honorees -- Thomas
Friedman, Don Hewitt, and Mae Jemison.

"On issues ranging from energy security to science education, from
health care to the role of the media in political discourse, we face global
challenges that are complex, interlinked, and multifaceted," Jackson said.
"The participants in our colloquy bring a wealth of ideas and perspectives
on these issues, and a willingness to exercise leadership as we seek to
move toward solutions that will help us advance human society."
The President's Commencement Colloquy, titled "Balancing on the Knife-
Edge: Politics, Technology, and Ethics," will take place May 18 at 4 p.m.
in room 308 of the Darrin Communications Center on the Rensselaer campus.
The event will be Webcast live and archived at:
http://mediasite.itops.rpi.edu/mediasite4/catalog/.

-- Shirley Ann Jackson (colloquy moderator) is president of Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, and past president of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science.

-- Thomas Friedman is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York
Times and best-selling author of The World Is Flat: A Brief History of
the Twenty-First Century.

-- Don Hewitt is a pioneering television producer with more than 50 years
of experience at CBS News, where he is best known as the creator of
the weekly news program 60 Minutes.

-- Mae Jemison, the first African American woman to travel in space, is a
medical doctor, television broadcaster, and founder of two technology
companies that focus on creating advanced technologies for the
developing world.

The colloquy is being held in conjunction with Rensselaer's 201st
Commencement on May 19, where Friedman, Hewitt, and Jemison will receive
honorary degrees. Friedman will deliver the Commencement address at the
9:30 a.m. ceremony on the Harkness Field.

About Rensselaer

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the nation's
oldest technological university. The university offers bachelor's,
master's, and doctoral degrees in engineering, the sciences, information
technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social
sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and
working professionals around the world.

Rensselaer faculty are known for
pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of fields, with
particular emphasis in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information
technology, and the media arts and technology. The Institute is well known
for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the
marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life,
protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.
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