Both talks will be given at 4 p.m. in 255 Olin Hall and will be preceded by a 3:15 p.m. reception in the Fred H. Rhodes Lounge in 128 Olin Hall. Both lectures are free and open to the public.

The topic of the April 18 lecture will be "Synthetic Biology: Biochemical Engineering Revisited?" The April 19 lecture will focus on, "Engineering and Structure-Function of Therapeutic Antibodies and Enzymes."

Georgiou's research interests are in biotechnology with special emphasis on the development of new technologies for protein engineering and molecular therapeutics. His research group also is working on mechanistic aspects of protein biogenesis, focusing on protein secretion in bacteria, protein oxidation and protein folding.

Georgiou, who earned his Ph.D. at Cornell, is the recipient of many awards, including a Presidential Young Investigator Award, a Dow Outstanding Young Faculty Award and the E. Bergman Prize from the U.S.-Israel Science Foundation. He is the author of more than 150 research publications, co-inventor of 30 patents and editor of five books. He serves on the editorial board of five biotechnology journals and in 2005 was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

The Julian C. Smith Lectureship was established in 1988 by members of the Cornell chemical engineering Class of 1962 and other friends, colleagues and former students to honor the professor emeritus of chemical engineering. Each year the fund brings a leader in the field of chemical engineering to Cornell to lecture and interact with students and faculty members.