Unlike many in the climate change debate, Paul Alivisatos, director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor of nanotechnology at University of California-Berkeley, has a positive view of what the future can look like. He sees the promise of new and innovative solutions that cross the boundaries of scientific disciplines as solving problems caused by the increasing level of atmospheric carbon.

Alivisatos will illuminate the science behind the changes in the carbon cycle to offer a better understand these solutions Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. in Cornell's Schwartz Auditorium, Rockefeller Hall in a free, public lecture titled "Carbon Cycle 2.0." which will also address creative solutions toward a carbon-neutral energy future as this year's Hans A. Bethe lecturer.

In addition to his work on the carbon cycle, Alivisatos has made groundbreaking contributions to the fundamental physical chemistry of nanocrystals and helped initiate Berkeley Lab's Helios research initiative, an ambitious plan to lay the foundations for better solar energy utilization.

Alivisatos, who has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California-Berkeley, is a scientific founder of Quantum Dot Corp., Nanosys Inc. and Solexant Inc. and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Linus Pauling Medal and the Wilson Prize.

Other talks by Alivisatos in the Bethe Lecture series will be the Physics Colloquium "The Science of Nanocrystals in Six Easy Pieces," at 4 p.m., Sept. 26 in Schwartz Auditorium, and the LASSP Seminar "Toward Artificial Photosynthesis," at 4 p.m., Sept. 27 in 700 Clark Hall.

The Bethe Lectures, established by the Cornell Physics Department and the College of Arts and Sciences, honor Hans A. Bethe, Cornell professor of physics from 1936 until his death in 2005. Bethe won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1967 for his description of the nuclear processes that power the sun.

Linda Glaser is a staff writer for the College of Arts and Sciences.