Program
MA Bicentennial Description
1:00 PM - Introduction (Prof. Maria Zuber, MIT, Earth, Atmosphere & Planetary Siences)
1:30 PM - Origin of the Solar System and Early Earth (Prof. Lindy Elkins-Tanton, MIT, EAPS)
2:30 PM - Evolution of the Oceans and the Early Atmosphere of the Earth (Prof. Suhuhei Ono, MIT, EAPS)
3:30 PM - Evolution of Photosynthesis (Prof. Tanja Bosak, MIT, EAPS)
7:00 PM - Introduction
7:30 PM - Our Evolving Climate (Prof. Kerry Emanuel, MIT, EAPS)
9:00 AM - Coffee
9:30 AM - Darwin, Wallace and the Origin of Species (Prof. John Durant, Director, MIT Museum and Science, Technology & Society Program)
10:00 AM - Evolution and Development of the Vertebrate Brain (Prof. Hazel Sive, MIT, Dept. of Biology)
10:45 AM - Novel Mechanisms of Evolutionary Change (Prof. Susan Lindquist, MIT/Whitehead Institute)
11:30 AM - Evolution of the Vertebrate Eye (
Prof. Russell Fernald, Stanford University Neuroscience Program
)
2:00 PM - Natural Selection in Humans and Pathogens (Pardis Sabeti, Broad Institute and Harvard University)
3:00 PM
- Fish Fins to Tetrapod Limbs: The Landmark Evolutionary Transition in the Origin of Terrestrial Vertebrates (Prof. Farrish Jenkins, Jr., Harvard, Dept. of Biology)
4:00 PM - Revisiting the Origin of Species 150 Years Later: Developmental and Genetic Insights into Evolutionary Transitions cited by Darwin (Prof. Cliff Tabin, Harvard Medical School, Dept of Genetics)
9:00 AM - Coffee
9:30 AM - The Emergence of Darwin's Evolutionary Theory (Prof. Harriet Ritvo, MIT, History Faculty)
10:00 AM - Darwin and the Naturalization of Human Culture (Prof. Jim Paradis, MIT, Writing Program)
11:00 AM - The Evolution of Cell Division (Asst. Prof. Iain Cheeseman, MIT/ Whitehead Institute)
11:30 AM - The Battle Between Pathogens and the Immune System (Prof. Hidde Ploegh, MIT/Whitehead Institute)
1:30 PM - Local Resources for Biology Teachers (Dr. Natalie Kuldell, MIT Bioengineering Dept.; Prof. Rebeca Rosengaus, Northeastern Univeristy Dept. of Biology)
2:00 PM
- Scientific Controversies in Public Schools (Prof. Jonathan King, MIT, Dept. of Biology)
2:30 PM - Current Controversies over the Teaching of Evolution (TBA)
Free and open to the public.
Program Committee: Janet Browne, John Durant, David Housman, Jonathan King (Chair), Susan Lindquist, Ishara Mills-Henry, Diane Newman, Harriet Ritvo, James Paradis, Hazel Sive, Maria Zuber. Staff: Cindy Woolley, Emiko Bare.
Sponsors: MIT Department of Biology; MIT Museum; MIT School of Humanities; MIT School of Science; MIT Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Planetary Sciences; The Whitehead Institute; Cambridge Forum on Science Education; Massachusetts Darwin Bicentennial Project.
Link to Massachusetts Darwin 2009 Bicentennial Project Website
2009 will be the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species. With the accelerating accumulation of data on the nature of genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems, as well as increasing knowledge and appreciation of the importance of the Earth’s atmosphere and history, Darwin’s contributions are as important now as they were in 1859. Given the effort of anti-evolution groups over the past few years to interfere with the teaching of evolution in our schools, public recognition of Darwin’s contributions and the importance of evolution are particularly timely.
Encouraging Darwin Bicentennial events at Mass colleges and universities, with community outreach:
Many colleges and universities will be planning events to celebrate the Darwin bicentennial. They may promote expanded classroom time on evolution to make sure there is sufficient material in their curricula on Darwin and evolution available to students. Some will organize seminars, lectures or study groups, or reading groups. The Mass Darwin 2009 Project will encourage them to add a public outreach component to their activities. This may involve:
- Including presentations and materials accessible to a broader audience than the internal scientific audience;
- Holding public events in the late afternoon or evening, or on a Saturday, so that local high school teachers can attend;
- Contacting biology and earth science teachers in surrounding communities. The Massachusetts Biology Teachers Association and Massachusetts Association of Science Teachers will assist in this aspect.
Reaching out to local school districts:
As noted, biological scientists at colleges and universities in the Boston area and around the country will be organizing seminars and symposia recognizing the bicentennial. The Darwin Bicentennial Project is an effort to extend these activities to high schools and community colleges. Utilizing existing networks among science teachers, school committees, parent groups and professional scientific networks we are contacting individuals in local school districts and discussing 2009 opportunities.
We hope to encourage high schools to organize an occasional joint biology and earth science classes, or school-wide assembly, for talks on advances in our understanding of evolution, or dealing with the impact on biomedical and climate research. Also appropriate would be the organization of an evening or Saturday public forum in early 2009, open to members of the local community. In some cases the event will be around Feb 12, Darwin’s birthday, in other cases later in the winter or spring.
Linking scientists with educators and parents:
The Project will offer a professional scientist to visit a classroom or assembly, or anchor a local forum, which would typically include local biology and/or earth science teachers, and a local school Principal, Superintendent, or School Committee member. Among the scientists who have volunteered to participate in Massachusetts are faculty from MIT, Harvard, Brandeis and Northeastern Universities, and industrial scientists from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, New England Biolabs, and Millennium Pharmaceuticals.
The project will also provide assistance such as helping with press releases for local newspaper and radio outlets, providing sample programs, themes and background materials through the DarwinBicentennial.org website, and connecting organizers in local communities with each other.
In Massachusetts we are taking advantage of a network of contacts, which includes the Mass Association of Biology Teachers, Mass Science Teachers Assn, Mass Association of School Committees and Mass Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education. The kick-off event will be a daylong conference at the MIT Museum on Saturday Jan 24, 2009.
We have targeted an initial group of high schools that we hope will organize their forum in the week of Feb 12, Darwin’s birthday. We expect the local publicity to spur other high schools and community college to organize similar events in subsequent months.
Follow-up: Forming a continuing Darwin network linking scientists, teachers and parents:
In the later part of 2009 the Project will organize regional Saturday half-day Evolution Today conferences, inviting all those who have organized local forums, to meet each other, share their experiences, and also deepen their knowledge through presentations of current research. This will also facilitate formation of relationships between research faculty, biotech scientists, and high school science teachers.
We expect the activities launched in 2009 to become regular annual events around Darwin’s birthday in subsequent years in local communities. By forging a network of teachers, scientists and educators, we expect to be able maintain a continuing public education effort in future years.
The forging of a Darwin network will be aided by a website DarwinBicentennial.org which will have model activities; lists and links to communities and institutions whose plans are in place; explicit teaching syllabi and readings; model Darwin reading clubs, and chat rooms and blogs to allow discussion and exchange of experiences.
Some communities are likely to organize related activities such as showings of Inherit the Wind, book groups, or multiple scientific forums. All these will be posted and shared on the website.
National Links:
The network that is developing includes biology faculty at other institutions across the country. Our Massachusetts group will be acting as the clearinghouse and coordinator initially for groups in Georgia, North Carolina, and Maryland. This may extend to many more states. The National Center for Science Education in Oakland CA will be working with west coast groups.
For more information contact Prof. Jonathan King at jaking@mit.edu or 617-253-4700.
Advisory Committee: Prof. Janet Browne (Darwin biographer, History of Science, Harvard U); Connie Chow (Science Club for Girls); John Dee (former CEO, Hypnion Corp.); Dr. Frank Davis (President, TERC); Prof. John Durant (Director, MIT Museum); Prof. David Housman (Cancer Center, MIT); Prof. Jonathan King (Dept of Biology, MIT); Prof. Melissa Kosinski-Collins (Dept of Biology, Brandeis U.); Prof. Kenneth Miller (Dept of Biology, Brown University); Dr. Ishara Mills-Henry (Dept. of Biology, Harvard U); Prof. Jacqueline Piret (Dept of Microbiology, Northeastern U.); Dr. Rich Roberts (Nobel Laureate, CSO of New England Biolabs); Dr. Steve Raso (Research Scientist, Wyeth).
The project will be under the direction of Jonathan King, who is taking a sabbatical from MIT for this purpose. The staff will include administrator Cindy Woolley (part-time) and MIT Biology senior graduate student Emiko Fire (part-time). Many Boston area faculty and students will be contributing their time pro bono.
Organizational auspices:
The Darwin Bicentennial Project is organized under the auspices of the Massachusetts Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education (MassCARE), a public charity incorporated in Massachusetts with offices at 342 Broadway, Cambridge MA 02139. MassCARE’s mission is to educate and advocate for excellence and equity in public education. MassCARE is recognized as a not-for-profit organization operating under the 502c3 standard of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.
MassCARE Board of Directors: Chair Jean McGuire; Vice-Chair Ruth Kaplan; Vice-Chair Steven Backman; Vice-Chair, Paul Dunphy; Treasurer Jonathan King; Recording Secretary Larry Ward; Corresponding Sec’y Jacqueline Dee King; Lisa Guisbond; Karen Hartke; Michael Heichman; Hon. Sumner Kaplan; Monty Neill.