Feb. 19, 2009
 |
Charles Darwin
(Portrait by by Julia Margaret Cameron, 1868) |
DAVIS—The UC Davis Department of Entomology will be among the departments participating in the Darwin Day celebration at 7 p.m., Monday, Feb. 23 in the Varsity Theater, 616 Second St., Davis.
Entomology graduate students Andrea Lucky, Sara Diamond and James Harwood will display live insects from the Bohart Museusm of Entomology. The exhibit will be in the lobby.
The one-hour free event, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Feb. 12th birthday of evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin, includes two public lectures, a birthday cake, and insect and fossil exhibits.
The event is sponsored by the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis and also involves the Department of Geology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, as well as the Department of Entomology.
“This is a great synergy between the Center for Population Biology, the Department of Entomology, the Department of Geology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology,” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology.
Presenting the public lectures will be evolutionary ecologist Maureen Stanton, chair and professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, and evolutionary biologist Jonathan Eisen, who maintains a lab in the the UC Davis Genome Center and holds appointments in the Departments of Medical Microbiology and Evolution and Ecology. He also writes a blog, The Tree of Life.
Stanton will discuss “The Evolution-Intelligent Design Controversy: What Lessons Does
It Offer about the Nature of Legitimate Science?” Of her topic, she says: “There is a great deal of public misunderstanding about science, and yet scientific literacy is more critical now than ever before. In this talk, I'll discuss how evidence is used in fundamentally different ways by doctrinarians and scientists, using evidence for evolution to demonstrate that difference. Science is important, but its sphere is limited only to natural phenomena, leaving abundant room for the reconciliation of science with faith.”
Eisen’s topic is “Evolutionary Biology is a Valuable and Practical Tool.” He elaborates: “Evolution is frequently interpreted as a science of the past. However, an evolutionary
perspective is a powerful and irreplaceable tool in studying and understanding the world
around us. I will give examples of how information on evolution plays critical roles in
subjects ranging from drug and vaccine development, forensics, conservation biology, and human medicine.”
Graduate students in the Center for Population Biology graduate students organized the free lectures. The Darwin Day event is one of more than 700 celebrations occurring globally on or around Darwin's birthday anniversary.
Funding is provided by the Storer Endowment.
Related information:
UC Davis spotlight on Darwin
Host Shift Triggers Cascading Effect on Ecosystem (Andrew Forbes)
Back to News
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
