March 26, 2010 – Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman will speak at two public events at the University of Virginia, on March 30 and 31.

The University of Chicago economics professor will deliver the 2010 Merrick Lecture, sponsored by U.Va.'s Department of Economics, on Tuesday, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., in Monroe Hall, room 130. The lecture is titled, "Understanding the Sources of and Solutions to Human Inequality."

On Wednesday, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Harrison Institute Auditorium, Heckman will take part in a panel discussion of "Early Childhood Plasticity: Perspectives from Economics, Psychology, Neuroscience and Policy," moderated by economist David Breneman, a University Professor, professor in economics of education and former dean of the Curry School of Education.

U.Va. psychology professor Eric Turkheimer and psychiatry professor Judy Cameron from the University of Pittsburgh will round out this discussion of the capacity for change in early childhood, sponsored by the Page-Barbour Plasticity Project and the Department of Psychology. Lunch will be provided. RSVP to psychology professor Alev Erisir at ae4h@virginia.edu.