Thursday, June 18, 2009

Yoder Lecture: "What Would Darwin Say?"

Anne Yoder, director of the Duke Lemur Center, is giving the next in a series of lectures commemorating the 150th anniversary of the publication of “The Origin of Species” and the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth.

At 6:30 p.m on Thursday, July 9 at the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh, Yoder presents “Madagascar’s magnificent biodiversity: What would Darwin say?”

Yoder’s research focuses on phylogeny and evolution of mammals, conservation genetics, and the historical biogeography and biodiversity of Madagascar, one of the most critical geographic priorities for conservation action worldwide. In addition to her role at the Lemur Center, Yoder is a professor of biology, biological anthropology and anatomy at Duke University. She is also associate editor for Evolution magazine and on the editorial board for the International Journal of Primatology and Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution.

Please RSVP to museum.reservations@ncmail.net . This lecture is free of charge and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Doors to the Museum and auditorium will open at 6:00 p.m.

The Museum is presenting this lecture series throughout 2009 in collaboration with the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) and the W.M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology at North Carolina State University.

The fourth lecture in the series will feature Dale Russell, the Museum’s senior curator of paleontology, on September 29. Russell will present a talk based on his new book “Islands in the Cosmos: The Evolution of Life on Land,” which traces a path from the dawn of the universe to speculations about our future on this planet.

On November 24th, Museum paleontologist Paul Brinkman presents the final lecture in the series: “Charles Darwin’s Beagle voyage and the origin of ‘The Origin’.”

Previous lectures were given by renowned science author Carl Zimmer, who spoke about the newest discoveries in evolution, and NC State University professor Rob Dunn, who spoke about biodiversity and ecology.

No comments: