Notice - This is an Archival Page.
For information regarding Darwin Week 2005, see: Darwin Week V

Welcome to...

Darwin Week in Charleston

February 9 - 12, 2004

• The Charleston Chapter of Sigma Xi.

• CofC Geology and Environmental Sciences
  

• CofC Biology

• CofC Chemistry and Biochemistry

• CofC Physics and Astronomy
  

• The Lowcountry Hall of Science and Math

The Public is Invited to the fourth annual observance of Darwin Week in Charleston. We've got an exciting line-up of events on the schedule! All are free. But arrive early - seats fill up fast!

All Talks are scheduled for 4:00 - 5:00 pm in Room 123 of the College of Charleston Science Center, recently named in honor of Rita Liddy Hollings. The CofC Science Center is located on the NE corner of Coming and George Streets.  Parking is available in the City Carage on the corner of St. Philip and George, two blocks east. Each talk will be followed by an opportunity to meet the speaker over refreshments. Birthday party of Charles Darwin on Thursday!

Monday, February 9 - Dr. Albert H. Keller
Science and Religion: Sworn Enemies, Just Friends, or Intimate Partners?
Although they may have been close at one time, since the age of Galileo (not to mention Darwin), relations between science and religion have been strained. Today there are those who still believe that if one domain is right about the origin and nature of human life, the other has got to be wrong. Some scholars, however, take the view that the centuries-old debate is obsolete and that both domains actually have a great deal to say to each other. Some, cross-trained in evolutionary biology and theology, have even drawn their science and faith together in intimate intellectual partnership. Relations are getting very interesting! Dr. Bert Keller is Associate Professor of Family Medicine (Ethics) at MUSC and Pastor of the Circular Congregational Church in Charleston.  He has studied theology at Union Theological Seminary, Montpelier, Yale, and Princeton Theological Seminary, where he earned his D. Min.  Download Dr. Keller's Handout! (pdf)


Tuesday, February 10 - Dr. David C. McLean
Maternal and Paternal Population Genetic Affinities of Gullah-speaking African Americans.
The Gullah-speaking African Americans inhabiting the coastal Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia are directly descended from the Africans enslaved to work colonial rice plantations. Anthropological studies position the Gullah as retaining more African culture, language, and tradition than other African Americans, thus making them especially interesting to genetic epidemiologists, anthropologists, and population geneticists. A genetic comparison of the Gullah population to putative parental populations of Sierra Leoneans and European Americans, along with comparisons to other New World African-derived populations, is offered to provide an improved foundation for genetic epidemiology studies.  Dr. David McLean is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics, and Epidemiology at MUSC.

Wednesday, February 11 - Dr. Charles Langmuir
Is Intelligent Life a Natural Consequence of Planetary Evolution?
Ever wonder how life on Earth began? Magmatic activity at ocean ridges can buffer seawater composition, enable the formation of continents, and create unique chemical environments suitable for the origin of life. Life can evolve without sunlight, in the presence of volcanic heat and water, and can subsequently transform a planet through modification of the atmosphere and the composition of the crust. This leads one to question whether intelligent life is an abnormality in the universe, or whether it might be more commonplace than is generally supposed. Dr. Charlie Langmuir is Professor of Geochemistry at Harvard University.  He has explored the sea floor on over 20 cruises over the last two decades, and has discovered hydrothermal sites in three ocean basins.  NSF Ridge 2000 Distinguished Lecture.

Thursday, Feb 12 - Dr. William M. Jackson
Comets, Messengers of the Past: Decoding the Message
A brief introduction to nature and origin of comets will be given. Then it will be shown how the results from ground, satellite, and spacecraft observations have expanded our knowledge about these astronomical bodies. Laboratory experiments that use lasers to confirm the explanations of these observations will be outlined. Dr. Bill Jackson is Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of California, Davis. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and has received many teaching and research awards, including a Humboldt Research Award and a Lifetime Mentor Award from the AAAS.  Sigma Xi Distinguished Lecture.
Happy 195th Birthday C.D.!

Repeat Presentation of Dr. Jackson's talk at The Citadel - 6:40 pm, Thursday Feb. 12. Grimsley Hall Auditorium, Room 117.