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Dr. Foerst to speak in Vocatio Chapel March 26

foerstAugsburg College continues its “Science as Vocation” series with Dr. Anne Foerst, visiting professor for Theology and Computer Science at St. Bonaventure University. Dr. Foerst will speak in the Hoversten Chapel at 10:20 a.m. on March 26.

Before her arrival at St. Bonaventure in January 2001, Dr. Foerst worked as research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was also affiliated with the Center for the Studies of Values in Public Life of Harvard Divinity School.

At the AI-Lab, Dr. Foerst served as the theological advisor for the Cog and Kismet Projects, two attempts to develop embodied, autonomous and social robots in analogy to human infants that might learn and develop more mature intelligences. Continue reading “Dr. Foerst to speak in Vocatio Chapel March 26”

Dr. Ruth Johnson speaks at Vocatio Chapel

rj_vocatioRuth E. Johnson, MD ’74 will speak in Vocatio Chapel on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 10:20 a.m. in the “Science as Vocation” series, as part of Exploring Our Gifts: The Augsburg College Lilly Grant.

Johnson is a consultant in the Department of Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic and assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Medical School. Her major interests are medical education, medical ethics and women’s health. She founded the Mayo Breast Clinic in 1993 and continues in patient care, education and research for women with benign and malignant breast disease, and women at high risk for breast cancer.

Majoring in chemistry and biology at Augsburg, Johnson earned her bachelor’s degree summa cum laude, graduated from Mayo Medical School and completed her residency at Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. In 1996 Johnson was named a Distinguished Alumna; in 2007 she rejoined Augsburg’s Board of Regents. She is married to Phil Quanbeck II, chair of Augsburg’s Department of Religion.

A luncheon at 11 a.m. follows the chapel service. To RSVP for the luncheon or for more information, e-mail Ross Murray at murray@augsburg.edu or call x1151.

From the South Pole to Augsburg

jansen_vocatioNovember and December in Minnesota bring with them cold, short days. However, they are tropical in comparison to the days at the Amundsen-Scott South

Pole Station in Antarctica. Katy Jensen, who now lives in St. Paul, was the Station Manager there from 1992 – 2002. She will be sharing her polar experience on Dec. 5 at 10:20 a.m. in the Hoversten Chapel as part of Augsburg’s Vocatio Series.

Jensen earned her degree from Colorado College and later joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Commissioned Officer’s Corps. After serving 2 years aboard research vessels conducting oceanographic mapping and surveying missions, she was assigned to the U.S. Antarctic Program. That turned into a 10-year-long adventure of days with endless sun and others of perpetual night. Continue reading “From the South Pole to Augsburg”

Dr. Peter Agre '70 to Launch Vocatio Chapel Series

agre_3MAugsburg is launching the Vocatio Chapel series on Sept. 19, at 10:20 a.m. with Nobel-Prize laureate and alumnus Dr. Peter Agre. The yearlong chapel series will focus on the theme “Science as Vocation.”  Agre will speak about his calling to work in the field of chemistry.

Agre received his B.A. from Augsburg College and his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 2003, Agre received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his discovery of the long-sought “channels” that regulate and facilitate water molecule transport through cell membranes, a process essential to all living organisms. Continue reading “Dr. Peter Agre '70 to Launch Vocatio Chapel Series”