AUSTRALIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AG
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GORDON STREET - CANBERRA CITY - AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY 2601 — TELEPHONE 4860113

SECRETARY (BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES]: DR. J. R. PHILIP, FAA, FRS

20 April 1978

Professor J. Lederberg
Department of Genetics
School of Medicine
Stanford University
STANFORD

CALIFORNIA 94305

Dear Professor Lederberg,

The Australian Academy of Science will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of its
Foundation in 1979, and plans to mark the occasion by Jubilee Celebrations.
These will be held in March 1979, in Canberra, and will include three one-day
Symposia, one on the physical sciences, one on the biological sciences and one
On science as a national activity.

The Symposium on the biological sciences has been provisionally entitled
Life : An Experiment with Molecules. It is proposed that the Symposium will
provide a world perspective on significant developments in our understanding
of the molecular basis of life processes. There will be a series of six
talks on the following general topics:

1. The evolution of life on earth
The origins and development of molecular
biology
3. The evolution of chromosome structure in
higher organisms
4. Differentiation and development in
multicellular organisms
5. The molecular basis of sexuality
6. Molecules of the Future.

This letter is a formal invitation for you to take part in both the Jubilee
celebrations and the Symposium. We hope very much that you will give the
paper on Molecules of the Future.

The Symposium will be presented in the Becker Hall of the Academy of Science,
Canberra, to an audience of some 300 people. Most of the audience (which will
include Fellows of the Academy) will have a scientific background, but there will
be a substantial component of physical scientists with no specialist knowledge
of biology. Each talk is to be of 45 minutes duration. It is proposed to
publish the talks in a Jubilee Symposia volume. Editorial and other details

will be furnished to the authors in due course.

The dates of the Jubilee Celebrations are 26-29 March 1979 and the Symposium
on the biological sciences will be held on Thursday 29 March.
The Academy is able to underwrite appropriate travel costs and will provide
accommodation during the celebrations.

We very much hope you will be able to take part and speak at the Symposium,
and I understand that Sir Gustav Nossal will be writing to you informally
on this matter.

It would be most helpful to have your reaction to this invitation as soon
as possible.

Yours sincerely,
J.R. PHILIP

Chairman of the Organising Committee
Jubilee Celebrations