Earlier this semester, Gregory Petsko delivered "Adventures of a Public Scientist." In the lecture, Petsko recounts his experiences during the past 20 years as he has stepped outside academia and engaged directly with government and the public on matters of science policy and the impact of science on society. These efforts have involved writing a regular column on science and society, giving many public lectures, appearing on television and radio, and being a science advisor to various government agencies and to industry. From these activities, he has learned a lot about the way the world works, how science is used and misused, and what scientists need to do to become effective agents of change. Some of his adventures have been comic, some have been tragic, and others have been just plain strange. 

Petsko is the Mahon Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College and Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry, Emeritus, at Brandeis University. This lecture was sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa.