Meeting Proceedings, 2017 Cornell University Baker Symposium—Quo Vadis: The Boundless Trajectories of Chemical Biology

Abstract

C ornell University's Baker Lectures are the oldest continuous lecture series presented by a Chemistry Department at an American university. Established in 1923 and endowed by the banker and philanthropist George Fisher Baker, these lectures have historically provided opportunities for prominent chemists to spend mini-sabbaticals at Cornell's Ithaca campus. In fact, 21 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Baker Lecturers, and in most cases the Baker Lecture preceded the Nobel Prize. Notable among Baker lectures is the series presented in 1939 by Linus Pauling, the product of which was his seminal book The Nature of the Chemical Bond, published by the Cornell University Press. 1 In recent years, the Baker Lectures have adopted a different format, wherein several luminaries are welcomed to Ithaca to present seminars in a one-day symposium on a specific theme. The focus of the symposium rotates through the different subfields of chemistry, with chemical biology occurring only once every six or seven years. On April 8, 2017, five outstanding chemical biologists traveled to Cornell's campus to present keynote lectures in a symposium titled "Quo Vadis: The Boundless Trajectories of Chemical Biology." The invited speakers included Christopher J. Chang (