Catalogue

Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series

The Distinguished Scientist Lecture Series originated in 1979 when Nobel laureate physicist Paul Dirac accepted an invitation from Bard professor Abe Gelbart and the Bard Center to deliver a lecture titled “The Discovery of Antimatter.” The talk presented a view of science rarely seen by the general public—as a record of personal achievement as well as a body of facts and theories. Since then audiences have heard more than 100 eminent scientists, including 46 Nobel laureates and four Fields medalists. Recent speakers have included Monika Zurek, a senior researcher at Oxford University's Environmental Change Institute, who spoke about the past, present, and future of food—and why food systems need to change; Thomas Cech, a Nobel Prize winner in chemistry for the discovery of catalytic properties of RNA, whose talk addressed “The Magic of RNA: From CRISPR Gene Editing to mRNA Vaccines”; Beate Liepert, pioneering climate change research scientist, who discovered the phenomenon of global dimming (and who joined the Bard faculty in 2021); Nina Jablonski, author of Skin: A Natural History and a leading researcher on the evolution of human skin color; and Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and author of You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation.