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2008-09 STS Lecture Series: PUBLIC SCIENCE, POPULAR SCIENCE |
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Diandra Leslie-Pelecky "The Physics of NASCAR" Thursday, Septemer 4, 2008 5:30 PM
That question sparked physics professor Diandra Leslie-Pelecky's interest in the science of NASCAR. What she thought would be a ten-minute search of the web turned into a book, The Physics of NASCAR, that takes NASCAR (and science) fans behind the scenes at top race shops, onto the asphalt at Texas Motor Speedway and into the garage with the Gillett Evernham Motorsports' No. 19 car. Dr. Leslie-Pelecky will share her research and expertise with students, faculty, and race fans alike.
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Bernard Lightman "Popularizing Darwin" Thursday, October 2, 2008 7:00PM
Bernard Lightman is Professor of Humanities at York University and Editor of the history of science journal Isis. Lightman has published widely on the cultural history of Victorian science, especially the relationship between science, unbelief, and religion and the popularization of science. His publications include his books, The Origins of Agnosticism and Victorian Popularizers of Science, and his edited and co-edited collections, Victorian Science in Context, Science in the Marketplace, Figuring it Out, and Victorian Faith in Crisis.
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Matthew Nisbet Thursday, February 5, 2009 7:00PM Professor Nisbet is a social scientist who studies strategic communication in policymaking and public affairs. His current work focuses on controversies surrounding science, the environment, and public health. In this research, Nisbet examines how journalists cover policy debates, how strategists try to mold public opinion, and how citizens make sense of complex and politically charged issues. He also serves as a communication consultant to several government agencies and non-profit organizations. |
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S. N. Khanna "Size and Shape Do Matter: From Superatoms to Nanoenergetics" Wednesday, March 4, 2009 12:00-1:30PM
Dr. Khanna is a fellow of the American Physical Society and has received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the College of Humanities and Sciences on two occasions.He is a member of the Advisory Board of the "Materials Science Forum" from Trans-Tech Publications and "Journal of Mathematics and Sciences: Collaborative Explorations". He has co-authored more than 200 research publications in refereed journals, has edited six monographs, and has chaired/co-chaired several International Conferences. |
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Olivia Judson "Glad to Have Evolved" Monday, March 23, 2009 7:00PM
After receiving her doctorate in biology from Oxford University, Judson wrote about biology and medicine for The Economist, The New York Times and Nature. In 2002 she published her first book, Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice To All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex, which spawned a three-part television series produced by BBC and Discovery Canada. More recently she participated in Animal Pharm, another TV series exploring the connections between genetic modification and agriculture.
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Robert J. Malone
"Nature's Enslavement in an Enslaved Land"
Friday, April 3, 2009 5:30-6:30PM
This lecture will examine science and slavery in the Old Southwest during the late 18th Century. Using the case of Scottish emigre, explorer, and plantation owner, William Dunbar, Dr. Malone will describe the state of early American science and how it developed in conjunction with slavery. Dunbar utilized both Africans and scientific knowledge to tame nature, and each of these forced him into a rigid world-view, from which it was difficult to escape. In her book Playing the Dark, Toni Morrison portrays Dunbar as a metaphor for whiteness and authority. |
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James Colgrove "Keep Your Laws Off My Daughter's Body" The Politics of HPV Vaccination
Thursday, April 16, 2009 7:00PM
Dr. Colgrove's research examines the relationship between individual rights, collective well-being, and the social and legal processes through which public health policies have been mediated in American history. He is the author of State of Immunity: The Politics of Vaccination in Twentieth-Century America(2006) and co-author of Searching Eyes: Privacy, the State, and Disease Surveillance in America (2007). He is currently a Greenwall Foundation Faculty Scholar in Bioethics.
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC For additional information, contact: Wanda Clary at 828-1635 or wclary@vcu.edu
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VCU Department of History |
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