Gerhard Herzberg Lecture

About the Speaker

Freeman Dyson is a British-born American mathematician and theoretical physicist most famous for his work in quantum electrodynamics, solid-state physics, astronomy, and nuclear engineering. Revered by many as one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, Dyson’s breadth of knowledge and experience has earned him a certain celebrity status in scientific circles. Over the course of his career he has had a front-row seat for many scientific breakthroughs, and his friends and colleagues have included some of the world’s most renowned mathematicians, physicists and intellectuals of our time – like Pauli, Oppenheimer, Feynman, and Bethe. Dyson has received several honours for his pioneering contributions to science, including the Wolf Prize for Physics. Now professor emeritus of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, he continues to share his knowledge with others through public speaking engagements. He is also an active reviewer for The New York Review of Books.

Previous lectures, 2000-present

• Wetlands: The Kidneys of Our Planet (2016)
  Dr. William J. Mitsch
  Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management and Professor of Marine and Ecological Science Juliet C. Sproul Chair for Southwest Florida Habitat Restoration and Management Professor of Marine and Ecological Science, Florida Gulf Coast University
• The Brain on Stress: Novel Epigenetic Mechanisms of Brain Plasticity (2015)
  Dr. Bruce McEwen
  Alfred E Mirsky Professor and Head of the Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory on Neuroendocrinology at the Rockefeller University
• More Food, Smaller Footprint: Earth System Science and Biological Agriculture (2014)
  Dr. Gerald M. Ross
  Organic Farmer and Consultant in Farm Design, Maui, Hawaii
• Must We Irradiate Food?
  Dr. Rick Holley, University of Manitoba
• Shaken and Stirred: The Cost of Earthquakes and How Science Can Help (2011)
  Dr. John Cassidy
  Research Scienties, Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada and Head of the Earthquake Seismology Section
• The Dynamic Brain: Adaptation, Changing Environments and Life Circumstances (2010)
  Dr. Anthony Phillips
  Scientific Director, CIHR’s Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addition
• Doing More Good than Harm: Building an Evidence Base for Environmental Policy and Practice (2009)
  Dr. Andrew Pullin
  Centre for Evidence-based Conservation
  University of Wales, Bangor, Wales
• The Large Hadron Collider: Shedding Light On a Dark Universe (2008)
  Dr. Rolf-Dieter Heuer
  Director in Charge of High Energy Physics and Astroparticale Physics, Deutsche Elektronen-Synchrotron
• Seeing and Feeling Nanotechnology: Plastics That Change Colour With Electricity and Pressure (2007)
  Dr. Geoffrey A. Ozin
  Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and Distinguished University Professor
• Origami, Linkages, and Polyhedral: Folding with Algorithms (2006)
  Dr. Erik D. Demaine
  Associate Professor of Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• The Art of Research (2005)
  Dr. Ram Murty
  Professor and Queen Research Chair in Mathematics
• Dinosaurs: The Cultural Icons of Science (2004)
  Dr. Philip Currie
  Head of the Dinosaur Research, Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology
• Fisheries Impact on Marine Ecosystems and Their Implication of Global Securities (2003)
  Dr. Daniel Pauly
  Professor of Fisheries, University of British Columbia
• How Does the Sun Shine? (2001)
  Dr. John N Bahcall
  Institute for Advanced Study School of Natural Sciences, Princeton University
• Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language (2000)
  Dr. Steven Pinker
  Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology