Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville and the St Louis ACS Section Women Chemists Committee invite you to a celebration of the life of Rita Levi-Montalcini—Nobel Laureate in Medicine who passed away on December 30, 2012, at age 103.
The event will be held on March 16th at 10 am in Room 1033, SIUE Engineering Building (#19 on the campus map) in conjunction with an International Women’s Day observance.
Rita Levi-Montalcini grew up Jewish in Italy under fascism. Her passion for education and science gave her the strength to challenge her society’s norms, where being a woman meant to be illiterate, and being Jewish meant to be deported and most likely killed. She overcame these odds to earn her medical degree summa cum laude from the University of Turin. After living with her family in hiding for the last year and a half of the war, she was recruited by Washington University in St Louis, where she stayed until her retirement in 1977. She won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1986 with Stanley Cohen for their discovery of nerve growth factor. In 1987, she was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Ronald Reagan.
Later in her life, she created a foundation that every year provides financial support for education of women in Africa.
SIUE chancellor Julie A Furst-Bowe will host this event. Susan Tyler-Hitchcock, who wrote her biography (Amazon, B&N) will describe the inspirational life of Rita Levi-Montalcini.
This event is open to the community, so please share with friends, colleagues, and neighbors. The event is free, but please register by March 1st to reserve your seat since space might be limited.
Photo © Presidenza della Repubblica, used by permission.
“Computers and the physics of complex biological systems”
