To submit an event to be added to the calendar, please click the button below.
Your event will appear on the calendar as soon as it is approved by the site administrator.
- This event has passed.
Staying True to the Indispensable Values of Science
June 13 @ 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm
E.B. Wilson History and Philosophy of Science Lecture
Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief, Science Magazine
Registration Link: https://mbl.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zgVJaP7JQ5KVn8gnkbzosA
Lecture Abstract: The fundamental fabric of science is under attack in the United States. The long-standing social contract, through which the federal government shares responsibility for scientific infrastructure with academic and research institutions, is under strain. Isolated studies and individual opinions are being used to discredit entire fields. To endure and thrive, science must remain steadfast in its core values: independence, inclusivity, rigorous peer review, and the pursuit of convergent evidence. This resilience also demands humility—recognizing the moments when science falls short, and that American science is just one part of a global endeavor dedicated to advancing knowledge and promoting justice.
Holden Thorp became Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals on 28 October 2019. He came to Science from Washington University, where he was provost from 2013 to 2019 and professor from 2013 to 2023. He is currently a professor at George Washington University and is on leave to serve as the editor-in-chief of Science. Thorp joined Washington University after spending three decades at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where he served as the 10th chancellor from 2008 through 2013. Thorp earned a Bachelor of Science degree from UNC, a doctorate in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, and completed postdoctoral work at Yale University. He holds honorary degrees from Hofstra University and North Carolina Wesleyan College. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
About the E.B. Wilson History and Philosophy of Science Lecture
The E.B. Wilson History and Philosophy of Science Lecture is given annually on a topic relevant to the history and/or philosophy of science. The Wilson Lecture was endowed in 2014 by Richard Creath and Jane Maienschein, MBL Fellow, and is named in honor of Edmund Beecher Wilson, a pioneering cytologist and geneticist and one of the MBL’s earliest investigators and instructors. Wilson remained affiliated with the MBL as a researcher and trustee throughout his life.