The keynote speaker for the event will be Frederic Pearson, director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Wayne State University.

Panelists for the event will include Col. William Ewald, commander of the 46th brigade for the U.S. Army National Guard, Henry Silverman, president of the Lansing chapter of the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union, and Tariq Shah, president of the Lansing Chapter of the Muslim Council.

Camille Spencer

Event to have discussion on academics

Officials from leading corporations and universities in the area will gather Friday at MSU for “Celebrating the Synergy Between Industry and Academia,” an event to discuss the partnership between industry and academia.

The event begins at 1 p.m. in the auditorium of the Radiology Building, and is free and open to the public.

Frank Low, a longtime executive with Philips Medical Systems and a pioneer in the field of molecular imaging, will be awarded the inaugural Synergy Award, which recognizes his contributions to industry and academia.

CEOs from various companies such as Cook Group and General Electric Medical Systems and William R. Brody, the president of Johns Hopkins University, will be at the event.

Featured speakers include William Cook, chairperson and CEO of the Cook Group; Carl Ravin, chairperson of radiology at Duke University Medical Center; and Stephen Swensen, chairperson of radiology at the Mayo Clinic.

Emily Buckler

African Studies Center sponsors brown bag series

The African Studies Center is sponsoring a brown bag series featuring Asmerom Kidane, a professor of applied statistics and demography at the University of Asmara, Eritrea. He is visiting MSU for a lecture at noon today in room 116-H in Erickson Hall.

His topic will be “Macro Economic and Demographic Consequences of HIV/AIDS in Eritrea: Possible Scenarios.” His publications include “The Quality and Consistency of African Macro Economic and Price Data,” “Production Functions of Perennial Crops,” “Re-estimating the Ethiopian Population by Age and Geographical Distribution” and “The Demand for Energy: An Economic Approach.”

Kidane is currently doing research on the affects of HIV and AIDS in Eritrea. His presentation will discuss the methods and consequences of the topic.

Camille Spencer