September 20, 2009
Darwin’s Evolving Legacy Public Lecture
Dr. Robert Moyzis
Professor of Biological Chemistry
University of California, Irvine
Are Humans Still Evolving?
Darwin’s greatest problem “was to understand how variations arise and are inherited”. Without an understanding of genetics and DNA, perhaps one of his greatest strengths was the courage to base his theory of natural selection on the observed, but then unexplained, fact that variability within species existed. One hundred and fifty years later, the molecular basis for that variability is now well understood, and confirmation of his hypothesis is found clearly etched in our very DNA. It is often assumed, however, that evolutionary change is a slow biological process, and that humans have stopped evolving due to our rapid cultural development. New approaches to search for the “fingerprint” of recent Darwinian selection suggests the opposite: that our culture may have had a profound effect on shaping our DNA. Clear evidence for an accelerated pace of adaptive DNA variation in humans during the last 50,000 years has been uncovered, likely the result of the unprecedented explosive demographic growth and worldwide migrations of humankind during this period.
Thank you to the Scott Hawkins Lecture Series for generous support of this lecture.
Private Dinner with Collegium members
6:00 pm – Dining Room Collins Executive Education Center
Public Lecture
7:30pm – Crum Auditorium in the Collins Executive Education Center
Parking available at Binkley Garage. Bring ticket to lecture for validation.
October 25, 2009
Jovan Wells
Principal, Science and Engineering Magnet High School
The Critical Need for Rigorous Math and Science Education
In response to the critical need for rigorous math and science education, the need to ensure that well-prepared students are in the pipeline, and minority students are included in that pipeline, one local Dallas school is setting the bar. The School of Science and Engineering at the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center is ranked #2 by Newsweek as one of the best public schools in the United States. Principal Javon Wells will share how this school prepares students to compete globally in math, science, and engineering fields by providing a rigorous learning environment, stressing a philosophy of hands-on science education, and offering students college level experiences.
November 15, 2009
Dr. Robert Gregory
Chair, Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, SMU
Director, Stable Isotope Laboratory
Taking the Vital Signs of a Planet: Riding the Applications of Stable Isotopes on Adventures in Earth History
With all of the talk of global change, it is useful to take the geologic perspective and celebrate how special the Earth is when compared to the other planetary alternatives. The light stable isotopes of the elements of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur are useful for tracing the interactions of between the various reservoirs of the Earth including the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the solid Earth. When compared with other terrestrial objects in the solar system, the Earth exhibits a great degree of stability making it the only planet suitable for complex life. Stable isotopes are key to understanding the origins of Earth’s geologic stability which is ultimately tied to the history of the oceans and their interactions with the crust of the Earth. Nevertheless, the lessons from Earth show that in spite of this great inherent stability, the biosphere has the potential to perturb the ocean system often leading to major life crises during Earth history. How can stable isotopes inform us about the future?
February 28, 2010
Dr. Brandilyn Stigler
Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics, SMU
The Influence of Mathematics on the Evolution of Biology
Humans have been successful at characterizing many natural phenomena using the language of mathematics. We have laws, formulated as mathematical models, that range from describing gravitational effects on masses to relating body mass and heart rate in animals. However for less-understood phenomena, a useful step towards discovering the underlying scientific law is to reverse engineer a model; that is, build a model from experiments to facilitate discovery of the network governing a specific process. While fields such as physics and chemistry have been revolutionized by the inclusion of mathematical modeling, molecular biology is currently undergoing a mathematically influenced transformation. Dr. Stigler will discuss areas of molecular systems biology that have flourished as a result of mathematical modeling and highlight areas that demand growth. Specifically, she will address the role of reverse engineering in the modeling of gene regulation and its implications in the development of biological theories.
March 21, 2010
Allman Family Public Lecture of the Collegium da Vinci
Dr. Thomas Cech
Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado-Boulder
Director, Colorado Initiative in Molecular Biotechnology
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Fostering Innovation Within and Between the Science Disciplines
In his lecture, Dr. Cech will share insights from his own research career and from his decade-long stint as president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Innovation is, of course, an individual character trait, yet it can be nurtured and enhanced by academic institutions and funding agencies. HHMI fosters individual innovation through its Investigator's Program, which puts the emphasis on choosing the best people, not projects. At the same time, many future opportunities for biomedical discovery will depend on interdisciplinary research, where chemists, physicists, computer scientists and engineers are brought together with biologists. Academic institutions sometimes inhibit interdisciplinary research and education through their policies and their siloed culture. Recognizing these challenges, HHMI has built the Janelia Farm Research Campus as a model for a new type of interdisciplinary research institute.
Private Dinner with Collegium members
6:00 pm – Dining Room Collins Executive Education Center
Public Lecture
7:30pm – Crum Auditorium in the Collins Executive Education Center
Parking available at Binkley Garage. Bring ticket to lecture for validation.
April 25, 2010
Dr. Gregory Warden
University Distinguished Professor, Department of Art History, SMU
Interdisciplinary Research at the Etruscan Archaeological Site of Poggio Colla
Excavations at Poggio Colla, northeast of Florence, have revealed a hilltop sanctuary and surrounding settlement that flourished from ca. 700 to 178 BCE. The site has been excavated since 1995 by SMU, Franklin and Marshall College, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology. The interdisciplinary research design includes traditional archaeology, archaeological and landscape survey, and other archaeometric techniques including remote sensing, palaeobotany, materials' analysis, and archaeomagnetic dating.
Collegium programs begin at 6:00 p.m. in the Gene and Jerry Jones Great Hall of the Meadows Museum, unless otherwise noted.
Time and dates subject to change.
Free parking available in museum garage