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   from the issue of December 13, 2007

     
 
Biologist to address graduates

 UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Biologist Daniel R. Brooks of the University of Toronto will give the address at UNL's Dec. 22 commencement exercises.


Brooks
 
Brooks

 
Chancellor Harvey Perlman will preside at the exercises, which begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in State Fair Park. Approximately 1,410 students will receive degrees.

Those planning to attend commencement exercises are reminded that the south entrance to State Fair Park via 17th Street is closed. The east entrance from 27th Street and the west entrance from 14th Street are open. Shuttle service will be available to and from parking areas.

Brooks, who will also receive an honorary doctor of science degree, is an internationally recognized evolutionary biologist, parasitologist and tropical biodiversity specialist. The title of his talk is "Solving the Emerging Infectious Disease Crisis: Finding them Before they Find Us."

After earning his bachelor's degree with distinction (1973) and his master's degree (1975) from UNL, he earned his doctorate (1978) at the University of Mississippi. Since 1988, he's held a faculty post at the University of Toronto, where he is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

His more than 300 scientific publications include groundbreaking books on general theories about the nature of complex systems, ranging from the origin of life to the evolution of languages and other semiotic systems, methods of phylogenetic analysis, principles and methods of comparative biology, and parasite evolution.

Brooks is the youngest recipient of the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal for research in parasitology, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and was honored by the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the study of tropical disease. His international leadership in integrating biodiversity inventories with evolutionary and ecological principles has led to revolutionary insights about the emergence of new infectious diseases.

December UNL doctoral candidates will be honored in a hooding ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 21 in Kimball Recital Hall. Doctoral candidates will receive their diplomas at the Dec. 22 commencement exercises at the Devaney Center.

A drop-off area for graduates and mobility-restricted guests will be available on the south side of the Devaney Center on Dec. 22. Sign language interpreters for hearing impaired individuals will be provided on-screen by HuskerVision. Guests in wheelchairs will be seated on the northeast corner of the arena floor or in section B-11. Golf carts will be located at the ramps on the exterior north and south sides of the Devaney Center to assist disabled guests entering and leaving the building.

Admission is free to the hooding and commencement ceremonies, and tickets are not required.



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