In delivering the 2013 Frederick S. Pardee Distinguished Lecture on April 4, Prof. Geoffrey West discussed how the rapid pace of urbanization may be creating some extreme challenges, but noted that the same rapid urbanization is also likely to spur the innovative solutions to those issues. Prof. West, Distinguished Professor and former president of the Santa Fe Institute, gave the annual Pardee Distinguished Lecture at the Trustee Ballroom. His talk was titled "Growth, Innovation, and the Accelerating Pace of Life from Cells to Cities: Are They Sustainable?" He was invited to deliver this year's Distinguished Lecture in association with a Pardee Center initiative focusing on The Urban Century.