Plenary Lecture

Introducing Kenneth R. Miller
Abstract

Kenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology and Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence at Brown University. A cell biologist, he serves as an advisor on life sciences to the NewsHour, a daily PBS television program on news and public affairs, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Miller is coauthor, with Joseph S. Levine, of five different high school and college biology textbooks used by millions of students nationwide. In 2005 he served as lead witness in the trial on evolution and intelligent design in Dover, Pennsylvania. His popular book, Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution, addresses the scientific status of evolutionary theory and its relationship to religious views of nature. His latest book, Only a Theory: Evolution and the Battle for America's Soul addresses the continuing struggle over how evolution is to be understood in American society. His honors include the Presidential Citation of the American Institute of Biological Science (2005), the Public Service Award of the American Society for Cell Biology (shared with Dr. Barbara Forrest in 2006), and the Distinguished Service Award of the National Association of Biology teachers (2008). In 2009, Miller was honored with the AAAS Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award, and with the Gregor Mendel Medal, presented by Villanova University.

June 16, 2008: The Colbert Report discusses Only a Theory
January 12, 2006: The Colbert Report discusses evolution.

Regional Botany Lecture

Introducing Elizabeth Farnsworth
Abstract

Elizabeth Farnsworth is Senior Research Ecologist with the New England Wild Flower Society (NEWFS), and a biologist, educator, and scientific illustrator. She is currently principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project to develop an on-line guide to the regional flora for teaching botany. She previously coordinated NEWFS planning for the conservation and management of over 100 species of rare plants. She has illustrated the forthcoming Flora of New England for NEWFS and the Natural Communities of New Hampshire with the NH Natural Heritage Bureau, and is currently illustrating The Ants of New England (Yale University Press). She is co-author of the Connecticut River Boating Guide: Source to Sea and the Peterson Field Guide to the Ferns. She is a member of the graduate faculties of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of Rhode Island, a Master Teacher at the Conway School of Landscape Design, and has taught at Smith College and Hampshire College. She formerly served as Ecologist with the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. She has conducted scientific research on many ecosystems throughout the world, focusing on restoration, conservation, and climate change. She was awarded a Bullard Research Fellowship by Harvard University in 2005 and a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1999. She has been a scientific consultant to the National Park Service, The Trustees of Reservations, U. S. Forest Service, Massachusetts and Connecticut Natural Heritage Programs, United Nations, and the Mount Grace Land Conservation Trust. She obtained her Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University, M. Sc. from the University of Vermont, and a B.A. with honors in Environmental Studies from Brown University. She is Editor-in-Chief of the botanical journal, Rhodora

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Annals of Botany Special Lecture

Introducing David Ackerly
Abstract

David Ackerly is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, and the Curator of Ecology for the UC and Jepson Herbaria, at the University of California Berkeley. A native of New England, he conducted his Ph.D. and post-doctoral research at Harvard University, including field work in Brazil, Mexico, New England and Japan. Professor Ackerly and his research group study the ecology and evolution of plant traits – characteristics such as leaf size and thickness, flowering time, seed size, and others, that reflect the ecological diversity of terrestrial plants. Current projects in his lab are examining vernal pools of the Central Valley, evergreen shrubs in California and Australia, tropical forests in Ecuador, woody plants in the Sierra Nevada, and potential impacts of climate change on the endemic flora of the California Floristic Province. At Berkeley, Professor Ackerly teaches courses on Ecology, Plant Ecology, Biodiversity, and Plants of the UC Botanical Garden.