Sanford S. Elberg Lecture: Institute of International Studies: UC Berkeley

Larry Brilliant: "The Health of Humanity"

2006 Sanford S. Elberg Lecturer in International Studies

You can watch this lecture in streaming video or listen to in podcast. See also the interview with Dr. Brilliant (text).

Executive Director of Google.org
Chair and Co-founder of the Seva Foundation
Founder of the WELL online community
CEO, Network Systems
CEO, SoftNet Systems, Inc.
Associate/Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Michigan, 1977-1980; 1981- 1988
Epidemiologist and Survey Manager, World Health Organization, Prevention of Blindness Program, Katmandu, Nepal, 1980-1981.
Medical Officer, Smallpox Eradication and Epidemiological Advisory Inter Country Team, WHO, Regional Office for S.E. Asia, New Delhi, 1973-1977

Bio adapted from the Global Business Networks website:

Larry Brillant is an M.D. and M.P.H. and a former professor of epidemiology. On February 22, 2006, he was appointed Executive Director of of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google. He is also the Director of the Seva Foundation. In the past, he helped run the WHO smallpox eradication program in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh; was a staff member of the WHO "Global Commission to Certify Smallpox Eradicated" in Burma, India, Nepal, and Iran; and served as the last UN inspector to visit Iran to search for hidden smallpox. The author of two books and dozens of articles on the epidemiology of smallpox, blindness, and environmental diseases, he has worked at city, county, state, federal, and international levels. Larry is also the founder of the Seva Foundation, which has performed 2 million free sight-restoring eye operations in India and Nepal. As a technologist, he was a founder of The WELL, CEO of two public technology corporations (SoftNet Systems Inc. and Network Technologies), and most recently founded the WiFi company, Cometa. Larry is also a recipient of the 2006 TED Prize, which grants him one wish to change the world.

Dr. Brilliant's lecture will be held on April 17, 2006, at 5:00 pm in 155 Dwinelle Hall on the Berkeley campus.

About the Sanford S. Elberg Lecture in International Studies