Laurence Steinberg, Distinguished University Professor and Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology at Temple, was selected by Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education of the National Research Council of the National Academies to present the 2011 Henry and Bryna David lecture on Nov. 3.

In recent years, findings from studies of adolescent brain development have influenced debates about a wide range of policies affecting teenagers, from the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty or sentencing juveniles to life without the possibility of parole to whether states should raise the legal driving age or rethink policies that permit minors to obtain an abortion without parental consent. Steinberg addressed how the latest in brain science and behavioral research informs decisions about adolescents, public policy and the law.

An internationally recognized expert on psychological development during adolescence, Steinberg is a former president of the Division of Developmental Psychology of the American Psychological Association and of the Society for Research on Adolescence, and former director of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. His research focuses on a range of topics in the study of contemporary adolescence, including adolescent brain development, risk-taking and decision-making, parent-adolescent relationships, adolescent employment, high school reform and juvenile justice.

Most recently, he was the recipient of the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize for Productive Youth Development, one of the largest prizes ever awarded to a social scientist.

The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council, are private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world. They are known collectively as the National Academies.