In celebration of its 100th anniversary, Rice University has selected an all-star lineup of guest speakers expert in the university's central areas of focus: Law, architecture, technology, genetics and energy.

Headlining the lecture series is U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who host a "A Conversation with the Chief Justice" on Oct. 17. Roberts — a conservative appointed by George W. Bush in 2005 — found himself under fire early this summer for upsetting expectations and largely upholding President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Rem Koolhaas, a Pritzker Prize-winning architect, renowned urbanist and co-founder of the Office of Metropolitan Architecture, was also selected as a distinguished guest speaker for the series. Koolhaas will host a lecture on Oct. 11.

Other notable speakers include international angel investor Esther Dyson, who will present "Traveling Behind the Scenes" on Oct. 11; human genome scientist J. Craig Venter, who will present "From Reading to Writing the Genetic Code" on Oct. 10; and Shirley Ann Jackson, physicist and president of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York, who will give a lecture on Oct. 11.

Koolhaas, Dyson, Venter and Jackson will also participate in an evening of short talks on Oct. 10.

"The Centennial Lecture Series Committee sought visionaries in their fields as a way of not only honoring Rice's history but looking ahead to its future," said Anthony Brandt, Shepherd School of Music associate professor of composition and theory, who co-chaired the committee with Susan McIntosh, professor of anthropology, in a statement.

The committee hopes that these high-caliber speakers will draw in alumni, students and community members. The lecture series, which will be held in Autry Court in Tudor Fieldhouse, will be free and open to the public.

Registration will be open to the general public here beginning Oct. 1.