Symposia will celebrate inauguration of 11th president

To celebrate the inauguration of Hugo F. Sonnenschein as the University's 11th president, a series of symposia will be held the afternoon of Wednesday, Oct. 20, following a special inaugural convocation.

The symposia, planned by the faculty inaugural committee, will focus on leading issues in five areas of teaching and research at the University. The programs will be free and open to the public. Three programs will be presented at 2 p.m., and two programs will be presented at 3:30 p.m. Locations noted here are subject to change; see the Oct. 14 Chronicle for current information. "Transplantation: The Second Revolution" 2 p.m., Kent 120

Twenty-five years of progress in human organ transplantation and the future of transplantation will be the topics of a panel discussion with four faculty members in the Biological Sciences Division.

Since the first heart transplant was performed in 1968, the transplantation of hearts, kidneys, livers, pancreases and lungs has become increasingly common because of advances in surgical techniques and the development of anti-rejection drugs.

"Advances in coming years--in solid organ transplantation, in the ex-vivo growth of human tissues and in the genetic engineering of cells that, when transplanted, will treat inherited disorders as well as diseases--promise to transform medical technology," said Jeffrey Bluestone, Professor in the Ben May Institute.

The symposium will look at the state of the art of transplantation, the promise of basic research and the ethical implications of transplantation. The panelists are:

_ Bluestone, who is also Professor in Pathology and Chairman of the Committee on Immunology. Bluestone directs efforts to develop new strategies to control the immune system, both to limit transplant rejection and to increase disease-fighting capability.

_ Jeffrey Leiden, Professor in Medicine and Chairman of the Cardiology Section, who is a leading researcher in gene therapy and in the use of genetically altered cells as transplantable tissue.

_ Mark Siegler, Professor in Medicine and Director of the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, who has examined complicated moral and ethical questions raised by advances in medical science.

_ J. Richard Thistlethwaite Jr., Professor in Surgery and Chief of the Section of Transplantation, who heads the Medical Center's clinical solid organ transplant programs. "The Evolution of the Physical Universe" 2 p.m., Kersten 115

The University's extensive research in the field of cosmology will be featured in a panel discussion by Astronomy & Astrophysics faculty members.

"One of the most exciting endeavors in science concerns origins--where did we come from and where are we going? What happened in the first fraction of a second after the universe was formed? How can we find out?" said Michael Turner, Professor in Astronomy & Astrophysics and panel moderator. "We think those events are crucial in explaining what the universe is like today. The University of Chicago has played a major role in unraveling the early history of the universe, and we have bold plans for the future."

Turner will be joined by Edward "Rocky" Kolb, Richard Kron and Noel Swerdlow, all Professors in Astronomy & Astrophysics, in a discussion of such projects as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, a 10-year project to map the universe. A joint endeavor with Princeton, Johns Hopkins and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the survey will result in the largest data base ever generated in physics or astronomy. "Liberal Education and the Advancement of Knowledge" 2 p.m., Harper 130

The establishment of a liberal-arts college within the framework of a major research university will be the focus of discussion at "Liberal Education and the Advancement of Knowledge: The Role of Collegiate Education in the Development of the American Research University."

"Asking the university and its faculty to be responsible both for advanced research and for undergraduate education is unique to this country," said John Boyer, Dean of the College and moderator of the symposium. "Only in America do the two co-exist so closely."

The symposium will explore the history of this tradition in the United States, examining the advantages and disadvantages both for the college and for the university that contains it. A discussion of the University of Chicago's system and Chicago's role in the history of American research institutions will be featured. The panelists are former Dean of the College Donald Levine, the Peter B. Ritzma Professor in Sociology; Richard Storr, professor emeritus of history at York University and author of "Harper's University"; and Roger Geiger, professor of education at Penn State. "Music: Theory and Practice" 3:30 p.m., Goodspeed Hall

The interaction between the performance and the scholarly study of music will be explored by four scholars and composers who are members of the Music Department faculty.

"What do jazz musicians, performers of contemporary music, pianists and opera singers have in common? They often work closely with the Music faculty and students at the University of Chicago. This symposium will explore the workings--and the problems--of these relationships," said Philip Gossett, Dean of the Humanities Division and the Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor in Music. Gossett will moderate the session.

The panelists are:

_ Ingrid Monson, Assistant Professor in Music, who will talk about the nature of improvisation in jazz. Two musicians from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music, the city's foremost experimental jazz ensemble, will demonstrate.

_ Shulamit Ran, Professor in Music, who will discuss composing, playing and listening to new music in the context of historical forms. One of her pieces, "Private Games," will be performed.

_ Charles Rosen, Professor in the Committee on Social Thought, who will address the relationship between analysis and performance, demonstrating at the keyboard.

Gossett will conclude the symposium with some examples from the world of opera. He will be joined by Ellen Harris, associate provost for the arts at M.I.T. and former chair of the Music Department at Chicago. "Altruism and Egotism" 3:30 p.m., Swift Hall third-floor lecture room

Panelists will explore to what extent the assumption of rational self-interest best explains the social behavior of human beings.

"At one end of the spectrum, many social scientists--often economists--rely on the assumptions of self-interest," said Richard Epstein, the James Parker Hall Distinguished Service Professor in the Law School, who will moderate the panel. "On the other end, many anthropologists and sociologists regard these theories as too austere to account for the complex patterns of social behavior observed in both primitive and modern societies. The panelists will examine evidence supporting these rival concepts and will offer their own views."

The panelists are: Gary Becker, University Professor in Economics and Sociology; Jon Elster, the Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor in Political Science; and Marshall Sahlins, the Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor in Anthropology.