Much of the research and discovery in biological science is now taking place at the interface of the life sciences with other disciplines, from materials science to computer engineering. This year's annual conference of the Cornell Society of Engineers (CSE) April 11-13 on the Cornell University campus will explore this 21st century biological revolution with the theme, "The Body Is a Machine, the World Is a System: The Convergence of Engineering and the Life Sciences."

The most immediate example of the marriage of life science and engineering is the development of the first implantable replacement heart. Among conference speakers will be David Lederman, M.D., president and chief executive of Abiomed, the company responsible for the first self-contained artificial heart, which was implanted last summer in a patient at Jewish Hospital, Lousiville, Ky. A second patient received the Abiomed heart last September, also at Jewish Hospital. Since then, three other artificial hearts have been implanted.

Lederman, a Cornell graduate (B.S. '66, M.E. '67, Ph.D. '73), founded Abiomed in 1981. He will speak April 12 at 1:30 p.m. in Ives Hall, Room 115, with additional seating for a television hookup in Room 105. The talk also will be tele-conferenced to audiences at the offices of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., One Financial Center, Boston, and to The Cornell Club, 6 East 44th Street, New York City.

Other featured speakers at the conference will be Michael Parker, president, Dow Chemical Co. (April 12, 9:15 a.m., Barnes Hall auditorium); James Dauber, B.S.'63, M.D. '69, medical director of pulmonary transplants, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, (April 12, 10:30 a.m., Statler Hotel amphitheatre); and Donald E. Morel, M.S.E. '84, president and chief executive, West Pharmaceutical Services (April 12, luncheon, Statler Ballroom).

The conference opens on April 11 at 4:30 in Hollister Hall B14 with the William G. Ohaus '49 Memorial Manufacturing Engineering Seminar, presented by Gerald Ostrov, B.S.,'71, company group chairman, Johnson & Johnson. Ann Bailey, M.E. '81, head of pharmaceutical operations in France for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Novartis AG of Basel, Switzerland, will speak in 101 Phillips Hall on April 13 at 9:15 a.m., followed by a panel on business opportunities in the new life sciences featuring a patent attorney and three venture capitalists.

Topics to be discussed by members of the Cornell faculty and graduate students during the Showcase of Technology sessions in B-17 Upson Hall April 12 at 2:45 p.m. include: the application of technology to understand and solve biological problems, leading to applications such as biosensors and therapeutics; the combination of chemical and biological techniques for engineered devices for the detection of hazardous biological and chemical substances; nanoscale devices to pattern, sort and analyze biological materials; and the influence of mechanics on skeletal development, growth and adaptation, particularly long bone structure and strength.

Special events during the conference will include a reception and poster session with student projects, April 12, starting at 6 p.m. in Statler Hotel ballroom foyer.

All conference sessions are open to the public. Individual sessions are free, but there will be registration fees to attend the entire conference for meals. For further information on the conference, visit the web site below, or call the CSE office at (607) 255-9920.

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