By Neil Offen

noffen@heraldsun.com; 419-6646

DURHAM -- Temple Grandin, the subject of an HBO movie that will air this weekend and an expert on autism who has talked and written about her own struggles with the condition, will receive an honorary degree from Duke University during the school's May 16 commencement exercises.

Also receiving honorary degrees will be Joel Klein, chancellor of the New York City school system; Alasdair MacIntyre, senior research fellow at the University of Notre Dame's Center for Ethics and Culture; Sir John Pendry, an English theoretical physicist; and Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Commencement, featuring an address by Yunus, will begin at 10 a.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium and is open to the public.

"It is our honor to recognize each of these extraordinary individuals for their contributions to society," Brodhead said. "They serve as a wonderful reminder to our graduating students that there are many different ways to serve the world."

Claire Danes stars as Grandin, a professor of animal science at Colorado State University, in "Temple Grandin: Autism Gave Her a Vision, She Gave It a Voice," which will premiere on HBO Saturday. Grandin, who has authored more than 300 articles on animal science, consults with the livestock industry on humane facility design, livestock handling and animal welfare.

She also has written about her experience with autism and how she was able to "grope her way from the far side of darkness" in her books "Emergence: Labeled Autistic" and "Thinking in Pictures." Grandin also was the focus of the book "An Anthropologist on Mars" by the neurologist Oliver Sacks. The book's title comes from a phrase Grandin uses to describe how she often feels in social interactions.

"I have read enough to know that there are still many parents, and, yes, professionals, too, who believe that 'once autistic, always autistic,'" Grandin wrote in her book. "To these people, it is incomprehensible that the characteristics of autism can be modified and controlled. However, I feel strongly that I am living proof that they can."

Klein has led the nation's largest public school district since 2002. He also helped found the Education Equality Project, a national organization aimed at closing the racial and ethnic achievement gap in public education.

MacIntyre is known for his contributions to moral and political philosophy, and for his work in the history of philosophy and theology. His books include "A Short History of Ethics," "After Virtue, A Study in Moral Theory" and, more recently, "Dependent Rational Animals."

A former president of the American Philosophical Association, he has taught at Oxford, Princeton and Duke universities.

Pendry is known for founding the field of metamaterials and creation of the first practical "Invisibility Cloak." Collaborating with a team of Duke scientists, he proposed a recipe for a cloak that can hide an arbitrary object from electromagnetic fields. A version of this design has been implemented experimentally by the Duke team.

Pendry, knighted in 2004 for his services to science, teaches at Imperial College, England, where he previously served as head of the physics department.

Yunus established the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh to help poor people escape poverty by providing loans on terms suitable to them and by teaching them sound financial principles so they can help themselves. Replicas of the Grameen Bank model now operate in more than 100 countries.

In addition to the Nobel, he has received a 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom Award from President Obama.