Noted evolutionist Lynn Margulis to visit Syracuse Symposium 2005: Borders on Oct. 17

Noted evolutionist Lynn Margulis to visit Syracuse Symposium 2005: Borders on Oct. 17October 10, 2005Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu

Lynn Margulis, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is highly acclaimed for her contributions to the study of evolution and the perceived borders between organisms and the environment. She will speak at Syracuse University Oct. 17, as a guest of the Syracuse Symposium 2005: Borders.

Her lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in Grant Auditorium. Parking is available in the Irving Garage. The lecture is hosted by The College of Arts and Sciences and co-sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering (WISE), the Department of Biology and the Department of Earth Sciences.

“Dr. Margulis’ distinguished career demonstrates the importance of crossing traditional disciplinary borders in the sciences to create new knowledge. Challenging the work of neodarwinists, Margulis developed her own theory of symbiogenesis, which was considered far-fetched when introduced. Many years of dedicated research have provided the evidence needed to quiet many of her early critics,” says Kandice Salomone, associate dean in The College of Arts and Sciences. “Margulis provides all of our students with a compelling role model who they can emulate in their own intellectual and professional pursuits.”

Margulis is Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her numerous publications span a wide range of scientific topics and include original contributions to cell biology and microbial evolution. She is best known for her theory of symbiogenesis, which argues that inherited variation, significant in evolution, does not come mainly from random mutations. Rather, new tissues, organs and even newspecies evolve primarily through the long-lasting intimacy of strangers.

Margulis is also noted for her work on the Gaia theory of life and how it can be detected. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1983. In 1998, The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., announced that it will permanently archive her papers. She received the Presidential Medal of Science from President William J. Clinton in 1999.

The Syracuse Symposium is a semester-long intellectual and artistic festival-hosted by The College of Arts and Sciences at SU-that celebrates interdisciplinary thinking, imagination and creation. This year’s symposium includes lectures, performances, exhibits and other special events around the theme “Borders.” Throughout the semester, the University community will explore ways that borders-visible and invisible-impact humankind in profound ways socially, politically, culturally, artistically, intellectually and personally. For more information on symposium events,visit http://symposium.syr.edu.