From Biology to Ethics: The Biological Roots of Morality

Francisco J. Ayala, Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Philosophy - University of California, Irvine

7:30 p.m. 1800 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive, UW-Madison Campus

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Darwin's Most Significant Discovery: Design Without Designer

Francisco J. Ayala, Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Philosophy - University of California, Irvine

7:30 p.m. 1800 Engineering Hall
1415 Engineering Drive, UW-Madison Campus

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Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Lectures
In conjunction with the new exhibition Starry Transit at the Washburn Observatory, MMoCA is presenting informal lectures to provide an opportunity to share ideas about the exhibition. All lectures take place at Washburn Observatory, 1401 Observatory Drive.

Wednesday, Sept 14th, 6:30pm - Timothy Moermand, professor emeritus, UW-Madison Department of Zoology on bird behavior and migration.

Sunday, Sept 18th, 1 pm - Archaeologist Dr. Robert Birmingham, on migratory bird symbolism in ancient Madison-area effigy mounds, including one located next to Washburn Observatory. Please note that the talk will take place outdoors; participants will gather at Washburn Observatory, then walk to the mound.

Friday, Sept 23rd, 6:30pm - Jill Casid, assistant professor UW-Madison Department of Art History, on Romancing the Instrument: Glowacki's Starry Transit and the History of Scientific Technologies.

Wednesday, Sept 28th, 6:30 pm - Martha Glowacki, artist and co-director, James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, on her installation.

more to be announced for October..

Chemistry & Ceramics: Shared Ground, Common Fire
5:30 p.m.
Elvehjem Museum of Art
800 University Avenue, Madison, WI

Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffmann, the Frank H.T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters and of Chemistry at Cornell University. Dr. Hoffmann is a chemist and writer of poetry, nonfiction, and plays.

Once Upon a Christmas Cheery, In the Lab of Shakhashiri
Prof. Bassam Z. Shakhashiri

For over 30 years, this science-oriented entertainment has played to packed houses at such varied locations as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, and Boston's Museum of Science, and it has been televised by stations across the country. Click here for more info including air times on Wisconsin Public Television.

Copenhagen
Overature Center, Madison Wi

Winner of three Tony Awards, including best play, Copenhagen is a haunting story of friendship and danger. In 1941, the German physicist Werner Heisenberg made a strange trip to Copenhagen to see his Danish counterpart, Niels Bohr. They were old friends and close colleagues, and they had revolutionized atomic physics in the 1920s. But now the two men were on opposite sides in a world war. Did Heisenberg ask Bohr about joining the German war effort? Or did he want to enlist Bohr’s help in derailing Hitler’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons? In Michael Frayn’s tantalizing play, Heisenberg meets Bohr and his wife Margrethe once again to look for the answers to questions that profoundly affected 20th century world history.

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American Chemical Society Fall National Meeting -
President's Cultural Event: Science, the Arts, and the Humanities
Professor Shakhashiri has organized a special presidential event at the American Chemical Society national meeting August 22nd designed to combine science, the arts, and the humanities. Notable scientists and authors explained how they use theater, poetry, photography and other tools to communicate science to the public. Philadelphia Marriott - Liberty Ballroom, Philadelphia, PA, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
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