In brief

Conference to celebrate two decades for Safra Foundation

The Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics will celebrate its 20th anniversary this weekend (May 18 and 19) with panel discussions featuring former and current members of the center. The conference will kick off with a keynote address by Thomas W. Lamont University Professor Amartya Sen on Friday (May 18) at 4:15 p.m. The title of the talk, which will be held in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum Lecture Hall, is “Can Justice Help Practice?” To view the complete agenda, visithttp://www.ethics.harvard.edu or call (617) 495-1336 for more information.

Reischauer Institute seeks papers

The Edwin O. Reischauer Institute at Harvard is now accepting submissions for its 2007 Noma-Reischauer Prizes in Japanese Studies, given to the undergraduate and graduate student with the best essays on Japan-related topics. The undergraduate award is $2,000 and the graduate award is $3,000. The deadline for submission is June 29.

Papers written this academic year are eligible, including course and seminar works, B.A. or M.A. theses, or essays written specifically for the competition. Doctoral dissertations, however, will not be accepted for consideration. For application guidelines and further information, visit http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~rijs/ or e-mail Theodore J. Gilman, associate director of the institute, tgilman@fas.harvard.edu.

Paine Hall concert to honor faculty

A farewell concert featuring the music of Harvard Department of Music faculty Julian Anderson and Joshua Fineberg will be held May 21 at 8 p.m. in John Knowles Paine Concert Hall. Anderson, the Fanny P. Mason Professor of Music, and Fineberg, the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities, will be leaving the University at the end of the academic year.

Anderson is returning to the United Kingdom to be a freelance composer and to teach at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Additionally, he is working on new pieces for the Asko Ensemble of Amsterdam, a ballet for the Rambert Dance Company, and an orchestral work for the Cleveland Orchestra, among other projects. Fineberg, meanwhile, will assume a composition professorship at Boston University and the directorship of the university’s electronic and computer music studio.