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Rational Thought - Darwin Day Celebration 2006 |
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Darwin Day Celebration 2006 at Stanford — Press ReleaseStudents, Faculty to Celebrate Darwin's Birthday with Lecture and CakeFor Immediate Release - Contact: Martin Mueller (650) 926-3837, martin.mueller (at) stanford.edu January 30, 2006 (Stanford, California) Students and faculty at Stanford University will celebrate the life and work of Charles Darwin at 7:30pm on Thursday, February 9, 2006 in Jordan Hall (Bldg. 420, Main Quad), auditorium 040. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Frank Sulloway (University of California, Berkeley) giving a lecture titled "In Darwin's Footsteps: How the Galapagos Islands Revolutionized His Thinking." In addition to Dr. Sulloway, there will be an introduction by Prof. William H. Durham, (Anthropological Sciences and Human Biology) and panel discussion with Prof. Stephen Palumbi (Biological Sciences, Hopkins Marine Station) and Prof. James H. Jones (Anthropological Sciences), all from Stanford University. Following the discussion, cake and refreshments will be served, to which all attendees are invited. There is a $10 admission fee, which is reduced to $5 for students. Charles Darwin, who first formulated the biological theory of evolution through natural selection, has had a significant impact on biology and the sciences in general. His work continues to influence modern scholarship in such diverse academic fields as biology, anthropology, and medicine. Darwin Day, which is traditionally celebrated on his birthday, February 12, is an international celebration of not only of Darwin's life, but science and humanity in general. Dr. Sulloway will speak about Darwin's important voyage to the Galapagos Islands and the observations that led him to formulate his theory of evolution in "The Origin of Species". Dr. Sulloway will also introduce the audience to his own work documenting ecological changes to the Galapagos Islands during the 20th century, employing an extensive collection of photographs and other visual material. The panel discussion will explore further aspects of evolutionary biology and the applications of Darwin's work to today's research in biology and anthropology. Martin Mueller, president of the Rational Thought student group at Stanford University, says: "In today's urban lifestyle, it is easy to forget the close connection between humans and the variety of life on this planet, a connection that was brought into the human consciousness in no small part by Darwin's seminal works 'On The Origin of Species' and 'The Descent of Man'. Even though many of his original ideas have been updated and reformulated in light of modern discoveries in microbiology and archaeology, the central idea of common descent of the species is still very relevant today. Developing an appreciation for Darwin's conclusions is an important part of learning about humanity's place in the universe, a step that is not without controversy, as evidenced by the modern-day objections to his ideas by the Intelligent Design movement." The event is organized by an ad-hoc committee composed of Prof. William H. Durham (Department of Anthropological Sciences, Stanford University), Nancy Pinkerton (School of Education, Stanford University), and students from Rational Thought. For more information about Stanford's Darwin Day Celebration, see http://darwinday.stanford.edu. A listing of other Darwin Day Celebrations taking place all over the world this February is available at http://www.darwinday.org.
Last updated: 2/01/06 |