Search For Lectures

Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion - Francisco J. Ayala
8:00 PM – Sun Room/South Ballroom, Memorial Union - Francisco J. Ayala, an evolutionary biologist and geneticist at the University of California, Irvine, was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a winner of the National Medal of Science. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, including, most recently, Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion and Darwin and Intelligent Design. He was a chief witness in the creationist trials in Arkansas in 1981 that prevented religion from being taught as science in the classroom. Also: A Conversation with Francisco Ayala: Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 12 noon, Sun Room, Memorial Union Darwin Bicenntenial Celebration Committee reception and poster session for faculty and student research in evolutionary biology will precede the talk at 7:00 p.m. in the South Ballroom. Part of the National Affairs Series and the Darwin Bicentennial Celebration.

A Conversation with Francisco Ayala
12:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Francisco J. Ayala, an evolutionary biologist and geneticist at the University of California, Irvine, was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a winner of the National Medal of Science. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books, including, most recently, Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion and Darwin and Intelligent Design. He was a chief witness in the creationist trials in Arkansas in 1981 that prevented religion from being taught as science in the classroom. Darwin Bicenntenial Celebration Committee reception and poster session for faculty and student research in evolutionary biology will precede his evening lecture at 7:00 p.m. in the South Ballroom. 8 p.m. Lecture in the Sun Room: Darwin's Gift to Science and Religion. Part of the National Affairs Series and the Darwin Bicentennial Celebration.

Darwin Made Me Do It: Secular vs. Religious Ethics - D.J. Grothe
7:00 PM – Campanile Room, Memorial Union - D.J. Grothe is Vice President & Director of Outreach Programs for the Center for Inquiry, a think tank that advances science, reason and secular values in public affairs. He is also associate editor of Free Inquiry magazine, and has lectured widely on topics at the intersection of education, secularism and science at universities such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, UCLA, UC Berkeley, and dozens of others. Questions to be addressed include: Can people be good without being religious? What does Darwin's theory of evolution tell us about morality? Can a secular ethics – based firmly in the sciences – hold the answers to the world's greatest problems?

Enhancing Creativity through Lucid Dreaming - Robert Waggoner
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Robert Waggoner is the author of the newly published Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self. He will discuss lucid dreaming, the ability to become consciously aware in the dream state, and how lucid dreamers are using this ability to enhance their creativity. He will explain how to become consciously aware in dreams, maintain your awareness, understand the principles of dream reality and actively engage the dream environment. A graduate of Drake University, Waggoner is the president-elect of the International Association for the Study of Dreams and the coeditor of the online journal The Lucid Dream Exchange, the only ongoing publication devoted specifically to this phenomenon.

Darwin and Me: A Panel Discussion
7:00 PM – Cardinal Room, Memorial Union - On Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, our panel will discuss how Darwin's work has affected their religious beliefs. Panel members include Iowa State professors and graduate students from both the sciences and humanities and a variety of faiths. We will then invite the audience to join the discussion with the goal of encouraging mutual understanding between scientists and non-scientists and among people of different faiths. We also hope to challenge the idea that evolution contradicts religion. Enjoy free birthday cake and primordial punch.

The World Is Neither Flat nor Round: The Power of Research Paradigms - Gloria Ladson-Billings
6:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Gloria Ladson-Billings will highlight the experiences and challenges of scholars of color who approach education from diverse and alternative perspectives. She is the author of Beyond the Big House: African American Educators on Teacher Education and the Kellner Family Chair in Urban Education and a professor of curriculum and instruction and educational policy studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She helped develop Teach for Diversity, a graduate program for teachers who want to teach in diverse racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic settings. She also authored The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children, which profiles eight outstanding teachers who differ in personal style but approach teaching in a way that affirms cultural identity. The 2009 Helen LeBaron Hilton Chair in Human Sciences. 7:30 p.m. reception following the lecture in the Multicultural Student Center, Memorial Union.

Nanochemistry: A Fantastic Voyage - Victor Lin
7:30 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Victor Lin is an Iowa State University professor of chemistry, director of the ISU Center for Catalysis, and a program director for the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. He is leading a team of Iowa State researchers using nanotechnology to re-engineer how biodiesel may be refined more cheaply and environmentally friendly through high-tech thermochemical and catalytic technologies. He is also exploring how nanotechnology can improve the conversion of hydrogen fuel cell technology as an alternative for the cars of tomorrow and how to safely deliver cancer-fighting drugs to targeted areas using a "gate" trigger release. His work has attracted funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Energy and Agriculture, and the Grow Iowa Values Fund. Lin holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. The Spring 2009 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Lecture.

The Live Well Collaborative as a New Model for Design Thinking - Craig Vogel
7:00 PM – Kocimski Auditorium, College of Design - Craig Vogel is a professor in the School of Design, the associate dean of research and graduate studies and director of the Center for Design Research and Innovation in the College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning at the University of Cincinnati. He has developed an approach to design that integrates interdisciplinary teaching and research while working with a variety of companies as a consultant for new product development and strategic planning. Vogel is a fellow and past president of the Industrial Designers Society of America. He is the co-author of two books, The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products (Wharton School Publishing, 2005) and Creating Breakthrough Products: Innovation from Product Planning to Program Approval (FT Press, 2001), and "Innovate or else: the new imperative," an article in the Ivey Business Journal Online. Vogel earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and a Master of Industrial Design from Pratt Institute. Part of the College of Design's 30th anniversary celebration

Living Upstream: The Sustainable Life - Larry Shinn
8:00 PM – Great Hall, Memorial Union - Larry Shinn has been the president of Berea College in Kentucky for the last fourteen years. Under his leadership, Berea has developed a sustainability initiative that has included creating a Sustainability and Environmental Studies Program, completing ecological renovations of many campus buildings, and establishing a residential "ecovillage" for student families. Dr. Shinn will also provide the keynote address for Iowa State's Live Green Symposium beginning at 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 10, 2009, on "Turning Green: Berea College in the 21st Century." The Symposium is free but registration is required. Go to http://www.livegreen.iastate.edu/09/symposium/homepage.php for more information and a registration form. 7 p.m. poster session and reception will precede the lecture.

A River Runs Through It, and Other Adventures: A Reading and Conversation with Annick Smith
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Annick Smith is a writer, editor, and filmmaker who lives in Montana’s Blackfoot River Valley. Her books include the memoir Homestead; Big Bluestem, Journey into the Tallgrass, written for The Nature Conservancy; the Montana anthology The Last Best Place, coedited with William Kittredge; and the recently published The Wide Open: Prose, Poetry, and Photographs of the Prairie. She was a founding member of the Sundance Film Institute, the executive producer of the feature film Heartland, and a coproducer of Robert Redford’s production of A River Runs Through It. The conversation will be moderated by Professor of English Debra Marquart. A reception hosted by the MFA Program in Creative Writing and the Environment will precede the talk at 6:30 in the South Ballroom. Part of the Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness, and the Creative Imagination.