2012 Posters
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Schedule Poster PDF
Simple Poster PDF
2012 Event Venues
The CofC School of Science and Math Auditorium
Located in the New Science Center at the intersection of Coming and Calhoun Streets, across from the College Library. The SSM Auditorium is Room 129.
Duckett Hall,
The Citadel
The Citadel’s Duckett Hall is at the corner of Lee Avenue (the continuation of Moultrie Street) and Jones Avenue.
Maps of both the CofC Campus and The Citadel are available online.
Second Presbyterian Church
Second Presbyterian Church is located at 342 Meeting Street, at the east end of Wragg Square.
Circular
Congregational Church
Circular Congregational Church is located at 150 Meeting Street.
Darwin Links Worldwide
DarwinDay.org
From the Institute for Humanist Studies
Darwin200.org
London Natural History Museum
Darwinweek.com
University of Northern Iowa
Year of Darwin
Case Western Reserve
Darwin & Darwinism
Baruch College, New York
City University
Darwin 200
Nature Magazine Special
The Darwin Legend.org
Many articles & links here
Darwin-Online.org.uk
Complete Works, and Worldwide Links
Darwin Days
Cornell University & the
Paleontological Research Institution, Ithica, NY
Darwin 200 Ireland
Events in Ireland
Darwin 200 Torquay/Plymouth
S.W. U.K. Events
Darwin's Reach
Hofstra University Events
The Evolution of Complex Animals: New insights into some very old problems in evolution
Monday, February 6 at 4:00 p.m.
CofC School of Sciences and Math Auditorium
Dr. Athula Wikramanayake
Over 500 million years ago, the Cambrian “explosion” yielded a remarkable diversity of animals with bilateral symmetry — animals which have evolved to constitute 95% of the world’s fauna today. Did such complex “bilaterian” animals evolve from simple, non-bilaterian organisms? Dr. Wikramanayake will review recent comparative work that has provided novel insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying this important evolutionary event.
›› Reception sponsored by the CofC Biology Department
Dr Athula H. Wikramanayake is a Professor of Biology at the University of Miami. Researchers in his lab use sea urchin and sea anemone embryos to identify conserved developmental mechanisms and reconstruct key developmental events that shaped animal evolution.
Need for Speed:
The Evolution of Decision-Making in a Rapidly Changing World
Tuesday, February 7 at 4:00 p.m.
CofC School of Sciences and Math Auditorium
Dr. Catalin V. Buhusi
Despite our sophisticated cognitive abilities, humans are notoriously bad at making rational decisions. Similar biases, aversions, and reference-dependent choices have been reported in other species, suggesting that evolution has shaped our ancestors’ brain to make decisions in a different kind of environment. How can we reconcile the apparent necessity of rapid decision-making with the need for building a long-term sustainable society for future generations?
›› Reception sponsored by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society
Dr. Catalin Buhusi is Associate Professor of Neurosciences at the Medical University of South Carolina. He uses methods from behavioral, systems, and computational neuroscience to understand how our brain makes decisions and why.
THE 2012 TALKS ON TAP DARWIN WEEK EVENT:
Does Evolution Lead to Evil?
Two Christian Perspectives
Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Second Presbyterian Church
Dr. Brad Harrub and Rev. James B. Miller
Critics have claimed that regardless of whether evolution is true or not, to believe that humanity had its origins in earlier non-human species leads to racism, eugenics, euthanasia, abortion, and youth violence. Join Rev. Jim Miller and Dr. Brad Harrub for a fascinating conversation on the potential ethical implications of evolutionary theory, with a robust question and answer time to follow.
Dr. Brad Harrub holds an earned Ph.D.in anatomy and neurobiology from the College of Medicine at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He is a popular speaker on Christian evidences at lectureships and youth rallies, conducting over 40 “Truth About Origins” weekend seminars each year, and the author or co-author of seven books, including Convicted: A Scientist Examines the Evidence for Christianity.
Dr. Jim Miller is General Missioner for the Presbyterian Association on Science, Technology and the Christian Faith. He received a PhD in theology from Marquette University. After a career in campus ministry, in 1996 he accepted a call to become the Senior Program Associate for the Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the editor or co-editor of five books, most recently “The Evolution Dialogues” (AAAS, 2006).
Astrobiology:
The Search for Life in the Universe
Wednesday, February 8 at 4:00 p.m.
CofC School of Sciences and Math Auditorium
Dr. Luke S. Sollitt
Are we alone in the Universe? Until recently, this fundamental question about humanity’s place in the cosmos was the province of philosophy or science fiction. The nascent science of Astrobiology seeks to turn science fiction into science research, and answer it once and for all. Dr. Sollitt will discuss three main research areas in this new field: the search for habitable planets elsewhere in the universe, the study of so-called “extremophiles” on Earth, and the search for habitable zones and life elsewhere in the Solar System.
Dr. Luke Sollitt is an Assistant Professor at The Citadel in the Department of Physics. His research interests include astrobiology, planetary science and space physics. He was a co-Investigator for NASA’s recent LCROSS mission which discovered a reservoir of water ice at the south pole of the Moon
The Ice-Age Dispersal of Humans to the Americas: Do Stones, Bones, and Genes Tell the Same Story?
Thursday, February 9 at 4:00 p.m.
CofC School of Sciences and Math Auditorium
and
Thursday, February 9 at 6:30 p.m.
Duckett Hall Auditorium – The Citadel
Dr. Ted Goebel
When did modern humans colonize the Americas? From where did they come and what routes did they take? These questions have puzzled scientists for decades, but until recently answers have proven difficult to find. New techniques of molecular genetic analysis, and a reinvigorated search for early archaeological sites across the western hemisphere, recently have led to some astounding results. Sponsored by the Charleston Chapter of Sigma Xi.
›› Reception sponsored by the CofC Dept. of Sociology & Anthropology
Dr. Ted Goebel is Professor of Anthropology and Associate Director, Center for the Study of the First Americans at Texas A&M University. He has worked on numerous anthropological sites in Russia, Alaska, and the United States and authored or co-authored numerous journal articles and book chapters dealing with the peopling of the Americas.
MOVIE NIGHT
ALLEGED
Friday,
February 10 at 6:00 p.m.
CofC School of Sciences and Math Auditorium
Based on events occurring behind the scenes of the Scopes “Monkey Trial,” ALLEGED is a romantic drama set against conflicts that boiled over in 1925 but remain simmering with us to this day — evolution and creation in the public schools, the role of science in society, and media sensationalism motivated by religious and political biases. Brian Dennehy stars as Clarence Darrow, Sen. Fred Thompson is William Jennings Bryan, and Colm Meaney is H. L. Mencken.
FRIDAY’S MOVIE TO BE FOLLOWED BY
A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR CHARLES DARWIN!
SPONSORED BY THE CofC BIOLOGY CLUB.
EVOLUTION SUNDAY:
CIRCULAR CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Science and the Christian Religion:
A Sermon in Three Acts
Sunday, February 12 at 11:00 a.m.
Circular Congregational Church
Dr. Robert T. Dillon, Jr.
If humans evolved from pre-existing species, there was no Adam. If there was no Adam, there was no original sin. If there was no original sin, Christ died in vain. Shall we shutter our churches and go home?
* download the text of Dr. Dillon's Three Act Sermon
Dr. Rob Dillon is Associate Professor of Biology at the College of Charleston and coordinator of Darwin Week. He serves as President of the South Carolinians for Science Education, Trustee of the St. Andrews Constituent District School Board, and Tenor in the First (Scots) Presbyterian Kirk Choir.
