[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Austin.Robert.Belllecture.final.jpg” caption=”Robert Austin”]The way may be clear for scientists to take apart biological systems and understand them in the same way we understand
machines.

Robert Austin, professor of physics at Princeton University and a member of the National Academy of Sciences
asks the question, “Will the 21st century be the century of biology?” for the 24th annual Alexander Graham Bell Lecture.

The free public lecture takes place today, Nov. 27 at 2:30 p.m. in the Burke Science Building, Room 147.

Austin's lecture will explore the technologies that have allowed scientists to quantify complex phenomena and the new ideas that
have arisen from their understanding of biological systems. These new ideas include the possibility that scientists will have the
ability to control and change biological systems.

Austin's presentation will also include taking a guess at some new
technologies and offering his ideas about what the future may bring.

The Alexander Graham Bell Lecture, presented annually by the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, offers
outstanding speakers on a topic in information and emerging technologies that is of interest to both the members of the University
community and the general public.