2023 Iowa City Darwin Day Science Fest

April 7, 2023
3:30 PM
April 7, 2023
3:30 PM
101 Biology Building East
100 Phillips Hall

The Public Policy Center is proud to co-sponsor the annual Iowa City Darwin Day Science Fest, a grand celebration of science and its many contributions to humanity.

Three keynote speakers will be presenting this year:

Friday, April 7
101 Biology Building East

  • 3:30 p.m. - Studying female morphology to understand genital coevolution in vertebrates
    Dr. Patricia Brennan
  • 4:30 p.m. - Beyond Inclusion and Reconciliation: Decolonization in Science and Technology
    Dr. Kim TallBear

Saturday, April 7
100 Phillips Hall

  • 10:00 a.m. - The Taming of the Weeds: Investigating the role of behavior and development in plant domestication
    Dr. Natalie Mueller
  • 10:45 a.m. - Oddball Science: Why studies of weird evolutionary phenomena are crucial
    Dr. Patricia Brennan
  • 11:30 a.m. - The Vanishing Indian Speaks Back: Race, Genomics, and Indigenous Rights
    Dr. Kim TallBear

Kim TallBear (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate) is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples, Technoscience, and Society, Faculty of Native Studies, University of Alberta. She is the author of Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science. In addition to studying genome science disruptions to Indigenous self-definitions, Dr. TallBear studies colonial disruptions to Indigenous sexual relations. She is a regular panelist on the weekly podcast, Media Indigena.

Dr. Patricia Brennan is an associate professor in the Department of Biological SCiences at Mt. Holyoke College. Dr. Brennan is an expert in sexual conflict in evolution and the evolution of animal genital morphology and function. She has also been an outspoken advocate for the value of basic science and its often unpredictable societal benefits.

Dr. Natalie Mueller is an archaeologist and paleoethnobotanist who studies plant domestication and the origins of agriculture in North America. an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, she is a leading researcher of so-called "lost crops," plants that were domesticated but subsequently fell out of use.

This event is free and open to the public. No registration is required.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact Dragana Petic at dragana-petic@uiowa.edu.