A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century Foreword As you turn the pages this Curriculum Guide today, look up for a moment and consider that somewhere, in a laboratory or at a blackboard or computer keyboard, a young person is hard at work pursuing the path that may lead eventually to one of the highest honors civilization can bestow—a Nobel Prize. The path that this young man or woman will travel is both difficult and long. Over the course of the journey, the rapid advance of science will most likely transform the world again and again. Like the Laureates, who have accepted the invitation to come and talk with Mecklenburg students, our bright young scientist will be inspired by the giants of science and by the wonders of the natural world. This shooting star will be steered in its trajectory by the encouragement and influence of family, the impact of war and other world events, by school experiences and probably by the powerful guidance and support of a mentor who is equipped and determined to discern the spark of brilliance and fan it into a flame of discovery. Those flames shine bright among our guests. By studying fruit-fly genes, Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard and her colleagues (Edward Lewis and Eric Wiechaus) helped us understand a critical step in early embryonic development that helps explain how birth defects happen. Douglas Osheroff, Robert Richardson and David Lee devised ingenious experiments at near-absolute-zero temperatures, revealing phase transitions that connect the micro- and macroscopic worlds. Edmond Fischer (with Edwin Krebs) spent years burrowing down into the complex chemical processes of the cell to isolate a fundamental step called reversible protein phosphorylation, which is crucial to medical challenges from cancer treatment to keeping the body from rejecting transplanted organs. Günter Blobel, arriving at Rockefeller University just as a new phase of work on cell structure and function was beginning, managed to sort out both how large proteins cross intracellular membranes and how they get to the right location in the cell. But the lives of our visiting Laureates and of physicist Anders Bárány, keeper of the great Nobel traditions, remind us that this is only a part of the story. Science is driven by curiosity, but a great scientist is driven to persevere along the difficult path to discovery by a commitment to humanity, a sense of the ennobling power of science and a vision of the great potential for service that lies in scientific breakthrough. The Nobel Prize does not crown a scientific career; rather, the Prize challenges its recipients to work still harder—to find ways to use science to improve our understanding of our world and one another, solve the world’s critical problems and expand our vision of the human potential. Science is a search for the understanding that comes from knowledge. Nobelists know that how we use that knowledge is what determines science’s contribution to the good of humankind and the planet we inhabit. They bring us not simply knowledge but a sense of its power, not just wisdom, but a reminder that the responsibility for thoughtful, just and humane use of our expanding knowledge is shared by us all. Scientific Committee Co-Chairs The Honorable Jim Martin, Carolinas Health Care, Chemist and Former Governor of North Carolina Rosalind Reid, Editor, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Editor, American Scientist Scientific Steering Committee Dr. Cindy Moss, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist Dr. David Royster, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Dr. Jack Sommer, Charlotte Area Science Network, Board of Directors A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -1- Special thanks to our Scientific Committee Co-Chairs The Honorable Jim Martin, Carolinas Health Care, Chemist, Former Governor of North Carolina, Rosalind Reid, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society, Editor, American Scientist Scientific Steering Committee Dr. Cindy Moss, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist Dr. David Royster, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Center for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Dr. Jack Sommer, Charlotte Area Science Network, Board of Directors Dr. Jimmie Agnew, Elon University Martin Baucom, Sigma Xi Debbie Beam, CMS, Berry Academy Robert Corbin, CMS, EE Waddell HS Jennifer Day, CMS, Butler HS Wayne Fisher, CMS, Myers Park HS Susan Foxx, CMS, Science Content Coach Mona Hedrick, CMS, East Mecklenburg HS Dr. Yvette Huet-Hudson, UNCC Dr. Francis Hughes, UNCC Fred Marsh, retired chemist Dr. Thomas Mathews, Sigma Xi Linda Mayfield, CMS, Science Content Coach Dr. Kimberly McKinney, Carolinas Medical Center Katherine Niemiec, CMS, EE Waddell HS Heather Plichta, CMS, EE Waddell HS Dr. Lowell Rayburn, Carolinas Medical Center Linda Simpson, UNCC, retired Jeff Steinmetz, Queens University Dr. Rosemarie Tong, UNCC Andrew Winter, UNCC graduate student CMS – Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -2- The Echo Foundation 2004-2005 “A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century” Curriculum Guide Table of Contents Page Project Timeline 5 Alfred Nobel, The Nobel Prize and Anders Bárány 7 School Partnership Team 10 Pre and Post Test 44 Günter Blobel 45 School Partnership Team 48 Pre and Post Test 97 Edmond Fischer 99 School Partnership Team 102 Pre and Post Test 122 Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard 123 School Partnership Team 126 Pre and Post Test 163 Douglas Osheroff & Robert Richardson 165 Douglas Osheroff School Partnership Teams 170 Robert Richardson School Partnership Teams 176 Pre and Post Test 210 Appendices The Light Factory 212 Contest Guidelines 216 Art Contest Entry Form 217 Photography Contest Entry Form 218 Essay Contest Entry Form 219 Poetry Contest Entry Form 220 About The Echo Foundation 221 A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -3- A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -4- “A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century” Project Timeline • School Partnership Workshop and Curriculum Orientation January 6, 2005 Curriculum Guides will be distributed to teachers and School Partnership Teams at Discovery Place. • Tolerance Week – January 31 – February 7 – at six schools Tolerance Day at each school serves as a precursor to Student Dialogue Day. There will be both large and small breakout sessions with students in their School Partnership Teams. Students will be introduced to the work of their future Laureate Guest, The Echo Foundation and the activities involved in Student Dialogue Day. TOLERANCE DAY HOST SCHOOLS LAUREATE GUEST Waddell High School Günter Blobel Harding University High School Edmond Fischer Butler High School Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard North Mecklenburg High School Douglas Osheroff Charlotte Country Day School Robert Richardson Providence High School Anders Bárány • Student Dialogue Day – February 28, 2005 Students come to hear a presentation by their Laureate Guest followed by a Question and Answer session. Students are encouraged to have two well-considered questions written on note cards to ask the Laureate Guests. STUDENT DIALOGUE DAY HOST SCHOOLS LAUREATE GUEST Myers Park High School Günter Blobel Hopewell High School Edmond Fischer Providence Day School Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Vance High School Douglas Osheroff East Mecklenburg Robert Richardson Charlotte Latin School Anders Bárány • LAUREATE HOST SCHOOLS LAUREATE GUEST Durham Academy Günter Blobel Berry Academy Edmond Fischer North Carolina School of Science & Mathematics Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard Independence High School Douglas Osheroff West Mecklenburg Robert Richardson Olympic High School Anders Bárány Lee Bierer Project Manager The Echo Foundation A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -5- A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -6- The Echo Foundation presents “A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century” Alfred Nobel, The Nobel Prize and Anders Bárány Senior Curator Nobel Museum Stockholm, Sweden Dr. Anders Bárány Professor of Physics at Stockholm University and Senior Curator at the Nobel Museum. He has acted as Scientific Secretary to the Nobel Committee for Physics since 1990. A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -7- A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -8- Alfred Nobel, The Nobel Prize and Anders Bárány Curriculum Table of Contents Page Bárány School Partnership Team 10 Anders Bárány – The Person 11 Alfred Nobel – The Man Behind the Prize 12 Classroom Connections 15 WebQuest – The Nobel Prize 15 Mock Debate – Nobel Prize Selection Profile A- Radiation 19 Profile B- Fission 20 Profile C- Nuclear Fusion 21 “The Nobel Prize and Einstein's Ghost” Article 25 Reading Questions 27 Discussion Questions 28 “A Nobel Too Far?” Article 29 Discussion Questions 30 “The Daily Yomiuri” Article 31 Discussion Questions 34 “The Role of Science and Technology in Future Design” Article 35 Reading & Discussion Questions 42 Pre and Post Test for Alfred Nobel, The Nobel Prize and Anders Bárány 44 A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century -9- The Echo Foundation Presents 2004-2005 Project A Gathering of Nobel Laureates: Science for the 21st Century Laureate Guest Dr. Anders Bárány School Partnership Team Charlotte Latin School Olympic High School Providence High School School Facilitators Mary