SEEDS (Scientists and Engineers Expanding Diversity and Success) is sponsoring a mentoring session with Maxine Savitz, vice president of the National Academy of Engineering and member of the President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology, on Monday, December 6 at 2 p.m. in the McArthur Engineering Annex, Room EB215 (Mechanical Engineering Conference Room). RSVP at www.as.miami.edu/seeds.

After her mentoring event, Savitz will present the seminar, “America’s Energy Future: Challenges and Opportunities,” which will review the potential of a wide range of technologies to transform energy production, distribution, and use, with the goal of increasing energy security and reducing adverse environmental impacts. No RSVP is needed for her seminar from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. in the McArthur Engineering Annex, Room MCA 202. For more information, call 305-284-2908 or e-mail [email protected].

Vladimir Gelfand, professor of cell and molecular biology at Northwestern University, will present “Kinesin-1: Conventional and Unconventional Functions of Microtubule Motor” on Monday, December 6 at 12:20 p.m. in Cox Science Center, Room 166. Gelfand studies essential properties of eukaryotic cells. In this seminar, he will discuss how motors of the opposite polarity on the surface of the same cargo communicate during transport and how conventional kinesin organizes microtubule cytoskeleton in a cell. For more information about Gelfand’s visit, please contact Akira Chiba at [email protected].

It has been 11 years since the release of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Since then, two major landmarks have been passed in this area. In 2008 President George W. Bush signed into law the Mental Health Parity Act, and in January this year President Barack Obama issued an executive order to implement the mandates of the Mental Health Parity Act, which provide that coverage for mental health treatment be equal to coverage for treatment of other health conditions in most insurance plans.

On the heels of these important strides and in light of increased awareness of the mental health challenges faced by student and professional athletes, the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine has embarked on a new initiative to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness, one of the major recommendations of Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General.

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Paolo Serafini, research assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at the Miller School of Medicine, will present “New Approaches for Targeting Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells and TAM” on Monday, December 6 at 12 p.m. in the Rosenstiel Medical Science Building, Room 3109. For more information or to add your name to the department’s distribution list, please contact Brian Ruther at [email protected].

Visit the UM Bookstore on Monday, December 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for its annual Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day. The store will be extending a 25 percent discount on select merchandise. This special offer is valid during the event on select in-store items only.