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A Little History of Some Big Peaks: the 3rd Sujal Memorial Lecture

It gives us immense pleasure to announce that the 3rd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture will be held in Kolkata on 19th December, 2015.


We are pleased to be able to continue our effort on bringing in an academic environment to the widely popular field of Himalayan mountaineering and trekking in Kolkata, West Bengal. We want to encourage our fellow mountain travelers to approach the high Himalaya not only with courage, but also with knowledge and humility.The Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture series is therefore an instrument through which we want to achieve this goal.
Dr. George W Rodway during one of his expeditions of Mt. Everest
We are indeed honored to have Dr. George W Rodway as our guest speaker for the 3rd Sujal Mukherjee Memorial Lecture. The title of his talk is : " A Little History of Some Big Peaks: The Saga of Medical Science associated with the Struggle for the Heights "


George W. Rodway, PhD, b. 3 March 1959, represents a combination of scientific researcher, mountaineer, science writer and speaker. An Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California, Davis (USA), his academic work focuses on the cardiopulmonary response to hypoxia, and it has on occasion presented him with the opportunity to climb mountains with scientific intent. Field investigations carried out with colleagues at the University College London on Cho Oyu in 2005 and Everest in 2007 are good examples of this. Climbing the mountain was one of the objectives of these research trips, but the primary intent was to perform a series of novel, yet practical physiological and medical studies that threw new light on how people adapt, and at times fail to adapt, to extreme terrestrial altitudes. 
Prof. Dr. George W Rodway
 An active mountaineer since the late 1970s, his scientific interest in high altitude began with the seasons he spent working as a medic on high altitude ranger patrols for the US National Park Service on Denali (Mt. McKinley, 6194m) in Alaska. Other than many climbs of Denali, he has decades of mountain experiences throughout Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the contiguous 48 states of the US. He started climbing in the Himalaya in 1987 and has become a regular visitor to the Himalayan countries. Although slowing down a bit due to the passage of the years, his interest in the high Himalaya continues unabated with an ascent of the north ridge of Everest in 2011 and co-leader of the successful Indian-American climb of Nanda Devi East in 2014. 

His interest in the history of science, especially as it concerns high altitude mountaineering, has given rise to many books and articles, including the soon-to-appear textbook he has edited, Mountain Medicine and Technical Rescue. He is the mountain medicine section editor for the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, and is Co-Director of the USA Diploma of Mountain Medicine. He serves international organizations as well, as an Executive Board member of the International Society for Mountain Medicine and, additionally, as Vice President of the Medical Commission of the Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme (UIAA).
Last but not least, he is a Life Member of the Himalayan Club, and a member of both the (UK) Alpine Club and American Alpine Club.

We will post further details of the event on this page with latest updates in October 2015. Till then, please be kind, do spread the word and try to attend the lecture with your friends if you are in Kolkata on 18th December, 2015.
CampII with Peak Jongsong as the backdrop. Kellas Peak Exploratory Expedition 2009


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