June 30, 2005

DALLAS - The fifth annual Biotechnology Educators Conference will be Aug. 2 at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center here.

The center is located at 17360 Coit Road. The event will begin at 8:30 a.m. with registration and will conclude by 4:30 p.m.

The conference will include an opening session by Dr. Russell Hulse, Princeton University professor and visiting professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, who won the Nobel Prize in 1993 for Physics. He and Joseph Taylor Jr., also of Princeton University, won the prize jointly "for the discovery of a new type of pulsar, which the "opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation." Hulse's speech is titled, "Science: from Nobel to Neighborhoods."

Dr. Elsa Murano, vice chancellor and dean of agriculture and life sciences at Texas A&M and director of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, will speak on "Ensuring Consumer Confidence in the Food/Fiber System" at the closing session.

Workshop sessions will focus on topics such as biosecurity in for food, water and livestock; use of medical lasers, genetically engineered plants, biological spore detection and cloning.

Participants also will learn about forensic DNA analysis; the national animal identification system; the use of DNA profiling for bird populations.

The conference is a collaborative effort of Collin County Community College, Extension, Experiment Station, UT-Dallas, Region 10 Education Service Center, UT Southwestern and Texas A&M.

Individual registration is $10 and includes all sessions, conference materials, refreshments and lunch. The deadline to register is July 8. To register, call the Center at (972) 952-9255 or (972) 952-9240.