Integrating mind and brain: Warren S. McCulloch,cerebral localization,and experimental epistemology

Recently, historians have focused on Warren S. McCulloch's role in the cybernetics movement during the 1940s and 1950s, and his contributions to the development of computer science and communication theory. What has received less attention is McCulloch's early work in neurophysiology, and its relationship to his philosophical quest for an 'experimental epistemology' - a physiological theory of knowledge. McCulloch's early laboratory work during the 1930s addressed the problem of cerebral localization: localizing aspects of behaviour in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Most of this research was done with the Dutch neurophysiologist J.G. Dusser de Barenne at Yale University. The connection between McCulloch's philosophical interests and his experimental work can be expressed as a search for a physiological a priori, an integrated mechanism of sensation.     

Hugo de Vries on heredity, 1889-1903. Statistics, Mendelian laws, pangenes, mutations.

The essay describes the development of Hugo de Vries's thinking on heredity from the publication of his Intracellulare Pangenesis in 1889 to the publication of Die Mutations-theorie, Volume 2, in 1903. De Vries's work in the 1890s can be characterized as an attempt to defend his theory of pangenes, especially the fundamental and controversial idea that different characters have different material hereditary carriers. Hybridization experiments served his goal. Recently discovered research notes on hybridization from 1896 suggest that, though he was unaware of Mendel's work, De Vries used the laws of dominance and recessiveness, segregation, and independent assortment to explain the 75:25 ratio in the second generation. He had discovered these laws by applying insights from probability theory to his research. In Die Mutationstheorie De Vries combined central concepts of intracellular pangenesis and his mutation theory by modifying the meanings of important terms and introducing new states of pangenes. In his attempts to describe Mendelian crossings in terms of pangenes and mutations, he became entangled in a number of contradictions. Some of his remarks suggest that he was aware that the Mendelian laws and his own theories of pangenes and mutations could not be made consistent.     

Focus: the elusive icon: Einstein, 1905-2005. Introduction

As Einstein's portrait comes increasingly to resemble an icon, we lose more than detail--his writings and actions lose all reference. This is as true for his physics as it is for his philosophy and his politics; the best of recent work aims to remove Einstein's interventions from the abstract sphere of Delphic pronouncements and to insert them in the stream of real events, real arguments. Politically, this means attending to McCarthyism, Paul Robeson, the Arab-Israeli conflict. Philosophically, it means tying his concerns, for example, to late nineteenth-century neo-Kantian debates and to his own struggles inside science. And where physics is concerned, it means attending both in the narrow to his responses to others' work and his reactions to his own sometimes misfired early work on, for example, general relativity and to the wider context of technological developments. Einstein remains and will remain a magnet for historians, philosophers, and scientists; the essays assembled here represent a strong sampling--but only a sampling--of a fascinating new generation of work on this perennial figure.     

Molecular mechanics—modeling molecular structure and energetics: the 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry presented to Norman Allinger

The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia awarded the 2002 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry to Norman L. Allinger for his pioneering work in computational chemistry in the field of molecular mechanics with his development of the MM series of force fields, their widespread application to the fundamental understanding of molecular structure and energetics, and their implementation as a significant tool to practicing chemists.     

The 2004 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Engineering presented to Robert E. Newnham

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Engineering to Robert E. Newnham for his invention of multiphase piezoelectric transducers and their spatial architecture which revolutionized the field of acoustic imaging. The background and significance of his research is presented. Attention is focused on the impact his research prompted in the field of medical imaging, in particular non-invasive, real-time visualization of internal tissue and organs of human body using ultrasound energy. Societal impact of Dr. Newnham's work is also pointed out.     

The 2001 Benjamin Franklin medal in physics presented to Alan Guth, Ph.D. of Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded the 2001 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics to Alan H. Guth for his efforts to advance our knowledge of physical science and its application of the inflationary scenario, in which the universe undergoes a rapid expansion in the first stages of the Big Bang.     

The 2011 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry Presented to Kyriacos C. Nicolaou

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awards the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry to Professor Kyriacos C. Nicolaou for his extraordinary contributions to chemistry, biology, and medicine through the advancement of the art of synthesis as exemplified by the elegant total syntheses of some of nature's most complex biologically active molecules. Nicolaou is recognized as a world leader in the field of total synthesis for his work in chemical synthesis and chemical biology. His total syntheses are legendary, distinguished for their elegance and practicality. Among his most celebrated achievements are the total syntheses of calicheamicin γ₁^I, Taxol^®, brevetoxin B, vancomycin, and thiostrepton. The impact of his work transcends total synthesis, for it often leads to the discovery and invention of new synthetic strategies and technologies as well as biological tools and drug candidates, thereby facilitating discoveries in biology and medicine. Nicolaou's influence on science and society extends beyond his research discoveries. Through his didactic lectures and writings, he motivates and inspires students into the sciences and informs the public about the importance of science and education to society.     

2008 Benjamin Franklin medal in life science is Presented to Victor Ambros, Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts), Gary Ruvkun, Ph.D. (Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts) and David Baulcombe, Ph.D., FRS (University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK)

The discovery of small RNAs that can turn off genes has given us a new way to think about how genes are regulated. These molecules are present in all complex organisms and are thought to regulate upwards of 30% of human genes. Due to their small size, their discovery was surprisingly recent and was underappreciated initially. Beginning with two back-to-back papers published in 1993, the labs of Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun reported the first small RNA (now known as a microRNA or miRNA) and how it regulated a target mRNA in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans through base-pairing interactions. It took until 1999 for another report to document novel small RNAs in complex systems, when David Balcoumbe discovered similarly sized molecules, now known as small interfering RNAs or siRNAs, that were associated with shutting off or “silencing” genes in plants. A frenzy of reports on small RNAs and their roles in turning off genes ensued with many researchers including Ambros, Ruvkun, and Baulcombe prominently participating. Almost instantly it became clear that small RNAs were not a quaint oddity exclusive to the worm, and molecular biology was never the same. Now we know that these molecules are critical for normal growth and development, are associated with cancer and other diseases, and have tremendous applied potential to improve agriculture and human health.     

Metastability,pattern formation,and the discovery of quasicrystals: the 2002 Bower Award for Achievement in Science. Presented to John Werner Cahn

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awarded the 2002 Bower Award for Achievement in Science to John Werner Cahn for his research in the field of materials science. Over the past four and a half decades, Cahn's ideas have vitally affected every area of the field and have strongly influenced statistical physics as well. In particular, Cahn's invention of the Cahn-Hilliard equation has been path breaking, as has his contribution to quasicrystallography.     

The emotional design of everyday things: The 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Computer and Cognitive Science presented to Donald A. Norman

Donald Norman changed and continues to change the way in which we live our technology-infused and technology-based lives. Norman was one of the founders of the field of cognitive science and based on that work, he went on to create the field of user-centered design. It is the latter work for which he was awarded the 2006 Benjamin Franklin award in Computer and Cognitive Science. When one works within the paradigm of user-centered design, technology is created so that it is based on human cognitive capabilities, and is therefore, usable.¹ When technology is not designed in this way, it is often experienced as unusable.In creating the field of user-centered design, Donald Norman works at a conceptual level; his influence is therefore both widespread and profound.     

工程运演·志怪风格·现实关照 论潘家铮科幻小说的特色

两院院士潘家铮的科幻小说通过引进工程运演,提升了科技想象的细节仿真性;通过向志怪小说寻求借鉴,建构了中国风格;他在坚持面向少儿进行科普的同时,还坚持科幻小说要关照现实,因而在科幻文学领域站稳了脚跟。潘家铮的科幻小说无论在科普方面还是在文学方面,都具有重要价值。     

The 2003 Benjamin Franklin medal in chemistry for pioneering the development of ultra-fast and multi-dimensional spectroscopies and their applications is presented to Robin M. Hochstrasser

Throughout his distinguished career of over 40 years, Robin Hochstrasser has made significant contributions to several areas of science in the fields of chemical and biochemical physics. He has been at the forefront and made fundamental contributions to the fields of photochemistry, solid-state chemistry, ultra-fast laser spectroscopies, and protein dynamics. He has been a prolific researcher, producing over 560 publications. His work has been characterized by experts in the fields as “a constant stream of experiments of lasting significance” (J. Phys. Chem. 100 (1996) 11791).Robin began his career in the 1960s using a variety of magnetic and electric field measurements to study crystals at low temperatures to understand spin quantization in solids and electron exchanged-mediated energy transfer. This work, described as a “classic contribution” (J. Phys. Chem. 100 (1996) 11791) was the basis for much of the subsequent experimental and theoretical work on the effect of magnetic fields on molecular spectra and on the measurements of dipole moments.In the late 1970s, Robin recognized the power of laser technology for the study of molecules and soon became a leader in the field investigating solid, gas phase, and condensed phase systems. He developed and applied various ultra-fast laser techniques to study the structure and dynamics of complex molecules in liquid phase, chemical, and biochemical reactions. He made seminal contributions to the development of two-dimensional infrared spectroscopy (2D IR) on a time scale of a picosecond or less. This 2D IR spectroscopy measures coupling between two functional groups in a large molecule and can thus be used to measure distances, as for example, two amide carbonyl groups in a peptide molecule. On the ultra-fast timescale, one application of 2D IR is to gain information on the rate of protein folding and unfolding in solution. Some of Robin's greatest contributions to understanding biomolecules are said to be in the experimental studies on the picosecond and femtosecond dynamics of heme proteins. Using techniques he developed he was able to observe the interactions of oxygen, carbon monoxide, and nitric oxide with hemoglobin inside the protein.     

Christopher Freeman: social science entrepreneur

This paper focuses on Christopher Freeman's contributions to the field of innovation studies. First, we consider his role as the creator of various organisational and intellectual frameworks crucial for the field's development, including the main research activities he initiated. Next, we examine the publications by Freeman that these activities led to. A database of surveys of the innovation literature, assembled from articles in handbooks covering this area, is used to identify the most influential of his writings for this field. In addition, citations to these works in scholarly journals are analysed in order to examine the nature and extent of his influence on other scholars. The final section sums up the evidence regarding Freeman's influence on the field's development. A list of Freeman's scholarly works is included as Appendix B.     

The 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry presented to Samuel J. Danishefsky, Ph.D.

Organic synthesis of natural products began in 1828 with Wohler's synthesis of urea, the first time a substance derived from a living organism had been produced by combining inorganic materials. Progress in the field was slow at first, due to the limited purification and analytical methods. Advances in those areas gave rise to rapid progress in synthesis, as chemists could now focus their energies on devising new approaches to the preparation of increasingly complex molecules. While it is possible to prepare many molecules by using known chemistry in new combinations, real progress has been the result of keen insight and creativity on the part of only a few individuals.Professor Samuel J. Danishefsky established himself early on as a leader in this field when he recognized that a well-known ring forming reaction could be greatly extended by adding chemical functionality to one of the components. He then found that these new reactive components could react with heretofore unreactive components to produce new rings containing oxygen atoms both in the ring and as attachments to the ring. These products were very similar to naturally occurring sugars. Danishefsky realized that he could develop this chemistry further to produce precisely defined polysaccharides as well. Some of these polysaccharides occur on the surface of cancer cells. Using the chemistry he developed, he was able to prepare these cancer cell markers, and after combining them with certain proteins, showed that the resulting molecules behaved as cancer vaccines. Several have entered clinical trial.Danishefsky has synthesized many other natural products, but he is particularly interested in those that may be useful in treating cancer. His syntheses allow for the modification of the final product in ways that improve both safety and efficacy. Several of these compounds have also entered clinical trials. Thus his work has not only advanced the art and science of organic synthesis, but stands to make dramatic advances in the treatment of cancer as well.     

Age Touches a Nerve

Philipp Khaitovich works in Shanghai, a city that is developing at a pace as dramatic as his research field. At the CAS-MPG Partner Institute for Computational Biology, the molecular biologist is investigating how the different brain development of primates is linked to their age.     

The finite element method and earthquake engineering: The 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in civil engineering presented to Ray W. Clough

The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, PA awarded the 2006 Benjamin Franklin Medal in civil engineering to Ray W. Clough for revolutionizing engineering and scientific computation, and engineering design methods through his formulation and development of the finite element method, and for his innovative leadership in applying the method to the field of earthquake engineering with special emphasis on the seismic performance of dams.     

"Giving body" to embryos. Modeling, mechanism, and the microtome in late nineteenth-century anatomy.

Reinvestigating the work of the anatomist Wilhelm His (1831-1904) shows how engaging with models in three dimensions can revise our accounts of scientific change. His is known to historians of biology for articulating a mechanical approach to embryology and for inventing a section cutter, or microtome. Focusing on the wax models that he also made in the late 1860s shows how the other two innovations were linked; reconstructing embryos from the sections, His claimed, provided compelling evidence for mechanical views. The next generation of embryologists appropriated His's work selectively. In the 1880s anatomists took up "plastic reconstruction" to visualize the complex forms of higher vertebrate, especially human, embryos. An increasingly dominant experimental embryology, by contrast, drew on His's mechanical approach but had little use for the waxes and effaced them from the history of his work. Recovering these models offers a fresh perspective on the transformation of a central science of animal life and enriches our understanding of the relations between representation in two dimensions and three.     

职业教育教学法对师范类班导师工作的启示——以2010级海南免费中职师范班为例

德国职业教育的目标是将职业行动能力作为学生学习的关键能力,通过自主学习和实践,获得专业能力、方法能力、交际能力的提高,从而实现自我的全面发展。笔者通过自己德国留学时职业教育教学方法的学习,进而在担任免费中职师范生班导师的过程中,在班级管理和师范能力专业技能训练中得到相应启示。本文通过班级分组管理、班级主题管理、班级角色管理三个方面加以阐述。     

美国钢铁行业的兴衰及启示

钢铁行业作为美国经济的三大支柱产业之一,在国民经济发展的各个阶段都发挥着重要作用。钢铁发展,则经济发展;钢铁衰退,则经济不振。文章通过分析美国钢铁行业一个多世纪兴衰的因素,兼并重组过程,揭示钢铁行业发展的规律性,可以为我国钢铁行业的发展概括出一些宝贵的经验和教训。     

The 2011 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics presented to Nicola Cabibbo

The Franklin Institute of Philadelphia awards the 2011 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Physics to Nicola Cabibbo for his pioneering work in the field of elementary particle physics, with special emphasis on his role in furthering our understanding of the underlying symmetries that relate one elementary particle interaction to another.