If You Could See Any Scientist Speak, Who Would It Be?

Sapolsky! Brilliant speaker and great person to chat with students. Prepare vegetarian meals.

Jeff Hawkins might make an interesting speaker. He isn't a neuroscientist himself, but as a computer scientist who has been working on developing models of brain functioning, he would be able to give an outsider's view of the state of brain research.

PIERO SCARUFFI, no question.

"http://www-ksl.stanford.edu/people/scaruffi/resacc.html"

If you get him, could you post an MP3 or YouTube?

My best friend in college did is Ph.D. with Todd Sacktor at SUNY Downstate. They study memory and Alzheimer's, but their work has even been talked about on This American Life. I've never heard him speak, but I bet he's pretty good. Science has highlighted the work:

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/317/5840/883a?maxtoshow=&HIT…

http://www.downstate.edu/pharmacology/sact.htm

Feynman.

Martha Farah, without a doubt!
and ditto to the above comment about recording and putting on YouTube

"Feynman"

He's hard to book, right now. Unfortunately. But he would be on my list, as well.

I would kill to hear James Haxby. He's involved in developing some very cutting-edge methods of analyzing neuroimaging data by using classifiers.

If that's interesting, report back to me what he's like - I'm applying to his lab for a PhD next year.

Richard Feynman has been dead for almost 20 years. woulda been sweet to see him talk here though... shel - you've already made excellent headway to get the person i'd most like to see give a seminar, anyone else'd just be icing...

wish i'd read tom's comment before posting... so it goes.

Richard Fortey.

Starting a book on trilobites off with a dark and stormy night and making it entertaining just rocks. Like to hear him read it.

Chris Doe...absolutely amazing work in Drosophila neuroblasts.

Stephen Jay Gould. If his talks were anything like his books that man would have been a brilliant speaker...

Graeme, Steven Jay Gould has been dead for a few years. It's a shame, I would have loved to see him speak too.

A few, off the top of my head:

Eric Nestler
Trevor Robbins
Tom Carew
Masakazu Konishi

I'm actually a grad student at UM now, so I'll be interested to find out who comes. Good luck with the organizing!

Thanks for all the great input, please keep 'em coming! Bora, Sapolsky actually came last year! :)

I am trying to get Alexander Shulgin to come speak. Does anyone know him? I have his email address but a personal plea would be better.

If I could pick anyone? I think Sir Martin Rees would be fascinating, but if I had to go with just one, I would say Steven Weinberg.

I saw Sasha Shulgin speak to a small group of chemists at Syracuse University about 30 years ago. He is a very fascinating person. Well worth the effort to try to find him.

Richard Dawkins. It's probably not too easy to book the man.

I know Gould isn't with us anymore, but I'd still have like to have heard him. Dawkins is a good speaker, but you do need a hefty budget to get him. How about Mary Schweitzer? Her work on spongy fossil bone is very interesting. Steve Hawking has a new book out, but I imagine he's as expensive as Dawkins.

Saw Shulgin within the last year or so. As a word of warning, it is likely to be a rather unusual presentation for those from neuroscience and pharmacology backgrounds. This may fascinate or offend your audience depending on what they expect.

the guy is chemist all the way and an old school one at that. it is unbelievably interesting for those of us who think "receptor interactions" and monoamine regulation to see how he thinks about related chemical structures, and that's it.

if you take it as the usual "geezer lecture" i think you will find it one of the most memorable you'll ever attend. if looking for much in the way of up to date scientific content...not so much.
fwiw.

Very cool, did you see Shulgin at Burning Man or somewhere else?

elsewhere :-). an evening with arvid carlsson, les iversen and shulgin. it was a good one.

I'm jealous! I think I will probably get the brush off from him as its just a student-run event and the honorarium is a pittance. I'm thinking he needs a good excuse to get back into the fray.

"I think I will probably get the brush off from him as its just a student-run event and the honorarium is a pittance."

ahh, you know he's been retired for ages right? although I suppose the mdma fans may keep him busy. i don't know him personally but he definitely comes across as someone who would not just give you a brush off. they're both old enough now that there may be some reluctance to travel so there might be a legit excuse but I doubt he'd front you over the honorarium!

here's a thought, ask him why he stopped blogging, could be your entry card.

oh and you can assume your local burners are going to turn out in droves for this, schedule a big room if you get him :-)

Oliver Sachs.