Seeing the Universe Through Telescopes From Galileo to Hubble and Beyond

What did Galileo see? How was infrared light discovered? How did Hubble discover that the universe extends beyond the Milky Way and is expanding?

Dr. Robert B. Silver, professor of pharmacology, physiology, radiology and biomedical engineering at Wayne State University will answer these questions and more, as he reviews how the evolution of the telescope has contributed to our deepening understanding of the universe. Professor Silver will present in the dome of the WSU Planetarium, using archival data to show you what Galileo, Huygens, Herschel and others viewed when they first turned their telescopes to the night sky.

When

Friday, March 25, 2011 at 7 p.m.

About Robert B. Silver

Robert Silver is a professor of pharmacology, physiology, radiology and biomedical engineering at Wayne State University. He joined the faculty at Wayne State University in July 2001. In 1973, Robert was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a Minor in Engineering Science, with a published undergraduate thesis, from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

His undergraduate thesis using electron microscopy and biophysical methods, demonstrated that the nearly crystalline arrangement of the contractile machinery of muscle is due to properties intrinsic in proteins actin and myosin. In 1977, he was awarded a Ph.D. degree in Zoology specializing in Cell and Developmental Biology and Protein Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley.

His Ph.D. thesis used protein chemistry methods to discover that the major contractile protein of heart muscle had multiple genes that were expressed in different proportions throughout the life of a heart. Between 1977 and 1980, he conducted post-doctoral research in Biochemistry at Berkeley, in which he demonstrated that the cell’s machinery that apportions chromosomes during cell division an control calcium signals.

Professor Silver teaches several upper-level graduate courses in biomedical engineering:

• Light Microscopy: Theory and Practice
• Tissue Biomechanics: Co-taught with Professor Yang, this course helps students learn how to model the mechanical properties of the tissues and organs of a human
• Forensic Engineering, co-taught with Professor Bir

In addition, currently, he has two graduate students and one intern studying with him. He has several ongoing collaborations. Professor Silver’s research focuses on “How Cells Make Decisions.” Topics that he studies include:

• How cells decide to divide – and the role of metabolic network signaling and digital calcium signals in that process.
• How the front-line defenders in our immune systems recognize and respond to danger.
• How chemical neurotransmitters are released at the nerve-muscle junction.
• The nature of the dialog between tumor cells and the surrounding healthy cells – as in lung cancer.

He has published 59 peer-reviewed articles on his research, several book chapters and scientific Task Force Reviews, organized three international symposia, and has an image on permanent display at the headquarters of the National Science Foundation.

He also designs and builds many of his research instruments, including several microscopes, and has two issued and several pending patents on his work. He has also flown experiments on two shuttle missions. Silver's research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the American Cancer Society, and the American Heart Association. His research is currently funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency of the Department of Defense.

Doctor Silver has taught and conducted his research at:

• The University of California at Berkeley: 1977-1980
• The Chicago Medical School – 1981-1984
• University of Wisconsin at Madison; 1984-1988
• Cornell University at Ithaca: 1988-1994
• The Marine Biological Laboratory: 1988-2010
• Wayne State University: 2001 – present

Between 2000 and 2006, he also worked in the Decision and Information Science Division of Argonne National Laboratory.

In addition to several local committees, his service to the community includes:

• Service on more than 55 scientific review panels between 1995 and through present for the:
  • National Cancer Institute
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Science Foundation
  • NASA – including performing science on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station

On topics ranging from multi-modal and hyper-spectral imaging and diagnostics of cancer, viral-mediated gene therapy, modeling and simulation of biological systems and high-performance computing:

• He is a former first responder and co-director of the EMT training program for Alameda County (CA).
• He has served as a trustee and member of the Science Council of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole.
• He advises and works with a special unit of the Detroit Police Department and other related agencies.
• He is a faculty liaison with the Wayne State University Baseball Team – go Warriors!