This invitation regarding the subject distinguished award lectures on October 31, 2016 is being sent on behalf of Suresh Garimella, Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships. On Monday, October 31, two distinguished professors and the recipients of Purdue University's highest research awards will be giving lectures to the Purdue Community. It is my pleasure to invite you and encourage you to attend the lectures and receptions following each of the lectures. I look forward to seeing you there. Best regards, Suresh Garimella Arden L. Bement Jr. Distinguished Lecture Arvind Varma, R. Games Slayter Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering "Selected Topics Related to Energy and Chemicals" 1:30 pm in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center 2:30 pm reception in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery, Stewart Center Selected research to produce energy carriers and valuable chemicals from new or renewable sources, currently being conducted or recently completed in my laboratory, will be discussed. * Hydrogen generation for PEM fuel cell vehicle applications * Catalytic upgrading of bio-oils * Utilization of glycerol, a biodiesel waste product, for production of valuable chemicals * Oxidative coupling of methane The research relies on development of new catalytic materials and/or processes and demonstrates successful applications of the principles of chemical and catalytic reaction engineering to solve problems of contemporary interest facing society. Herbert Newby McCoy Distinguished Lecture Jian-Kang Zhu, Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology, Departments of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, and Biochemistry "Decoding the Epigenetic Language of Life" 3:30 pm in Fowler Hall, Stewart Center 4:30 pm reception in the Robert L. Ringel Gallery, Stewart Center Some heritable information is not in the DNA sequence of organisms but is contained in the patterns of their DNA methylation. What is DNA methylation and why do we need to know about it?