Saturday, January 31, 2009

Darwin Celebrations @ UCLAN

I am pleased to announce UCLAN's Darwin Day lecture for this year. The speaker will be Prof Armand Leroi, the evo-devo biologist from ICL whose TV documentary "What Darwin Didn't Know" was on BBC4 earlier this week (if you missed it, you still have until 4th Feb to catch it on the iPlayer). I can also recommend his book "Mutants", which is both fascinating and grotesque.

The lecture, entitled "Thinking Like Darwin", will take place on Tuesday 24th Feb at 7.00pm in the Darwin Lecture Theatre. I hope to arrange refreshments etc from 6.00 as in previous years.

There will be two other events to mark the Darwin bicentenary in February.

On Feb 11, Prof Malcolm Edmunds will give a lecture on "Evolution for Beginners", aimed at all staff and students who would like to know more about how evolution works. This will be in [Edit: lecture moved to a bigger room by popular demand! Now in HARRIS 307] 11.00-1.00 with refreshments provided.

On Feb 9th, Pete Lumsden is organizing a seminar on "Darwin & Faith". The main speakers are Dr Paul Marston and the Rev Michel Roberts (anglican minister and geologist), who will outline and illustrate some of the key moments during Darwin's life, and explore what impact his ideas have had on science and religion - particularly Christianity - in the succeeding years. Darwin Lecture Theatre, 6.00-8.00pm.