Friday, September 22nd, 2006 The Quilted Bear N111 W18611 Mequon Road Germantown, WI  53022 (262) 255-1940

DIRECTIONS

During his boyhood in Shanghai, China, R. Liu often heard the statement: “Dogs can see ghosts!” Now after more than three decades of research in Vitamin A and visual pigments, he asked himself whether there is scientific basis that “dogs can see ghosts”. Preparing to answer this question in this presentation, he will first review the important development in the chemistry of vision in recent decades with particular emphasis on the work carried out at the University of Hawaii. Topics covered will be: stereospecificity of the binding site of rhodopsin, the probing of specific protein-substrate interactions (in rhodopsin) through F-NMR spectroscopy, the specific mode of photoreaction that triggers the visual process and the unusually high photosensitivity of rhodopsin. With these as background information, he shall then return to address the question: Can Dogs See Ghosts? This talk was initially presented to a group of businessmen in a luncheon gathering in downtown Honolulu in August 2004. Needless to say it was presented in a manner not assuming any prior knowledge in chemistry. However, it will not be difficult to re-direct the lecture to a more chemically oriented audience at a level tailored to the interest and background of that group of listeners.

B.A., 1961, Howard Payne College Ph.D., 1965, California Institute of Technology Honors: Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (1970-72) John Simon Guggenheim Fellow (1974-75) Fujio Matsuda Presidential Scholar (1985) UH Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research (1986) NSF Creativity Extension Award (1987-89) Resolution of Merit, the 14th Hawaii State Legislature (1988) UH Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching (1988) Honorary Member, Golden Key National Honor Society (1992) NIH MERIT Award (1992-95) Mortar Board Honoree (1996) 60th Birthday Honoree, ACS Meeting (1998) Fellow of the Foundation for Outstanding Scholarship, Taiwan (2000-2001) Research and/or Professional Experience: Predoctoral Research and Teaching Assistant, California Institute of Technology, 1961-64. Doctoral thesis, “Mechanisms of Photosensitized Reactions of Conjugated Dienes” (with George S. Hammond) Research Chemist, Central Research Department, duPont Company, 1964-68. Visiting Researcher at The Biological Laboratories, Harvard University and The Royal Institution at London, September 1974-June 1975. Associate Professor of Chemistry, 1968-72, Professor of Chemistry, 1972-2005, Professor emeritus, 2005-, University of Hawaii. Visiting Professor, National Taiwan University, 2000; National Tsing Hua University, 2001. Member of Professional Societies: American Chemical Society, American Society of Photobiology, Interamerican Photochemistry Society. He has also served on several University Committees and Services.