To: Wellesley College Community
From: President Paula A. Johnson
Re: Distinguished Faculty Lecture 2017
Date: February 14, 2017
It is with great pleasure that I announce this year’s Distinguished Faculty Lecture will be given by Marianne Moore, Frost Professor in Environmental Science. Professor Moore, an aquatic ecologist who has worked in freshwater ecosystems around the world, will present “Casting a Net into the Clear, Cold Soul of Siberia—Lake Baikal” on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. Please enjoy lunch at noon in the Davis Museum lobby, and join us afterward for her lecture, beginning at 12:30 p.m. in Collins Cinema.
Over the last 17 years, Professor Moore’s teaching and research activities have centered upon Russia’s Lake Baikal, providing her with extensive knowledge of the lake, the region, and the local people. (Lake Baikal, in southeastern Siberia, is the largest, deepest, oldest, and most species-rich freshwater lake on the planet.) Professor Moore is a leading authority on the topic, advising scientists, journalists, filmmakers, and international policy makers about the lake’s scientific and cultural significance. In 2015, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, the largest body of aquatic scientists in the world, gave her the Ramón Margalef Award for Excellence in Education for her interdisciplinary teaching and outreach activities. As part of a project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, Professor Moore is currently co-leading a team of 15 top scientists, from both the United States and Russia, to explore how Lake Baikal’s stunning biodiversity may respond to contemporary climate change.
Her work has enabled students from the sciences and the humanities to take part in one-of-a-kind interdisciplinary, cross-cultural research opportunities, and it has led to scientific and cultural discoveries that created meaningful change for both Russians and Americans. In her lecture, she will discuss her research and the powerful synergies that can be unleashed by uniting the sciences with the humanities.
Sponsored by the President’s Office, the Distinguished Faculty Lecture was established in 1999 to provide an opportunity for the College’s accomplished and respected faculty members to deliver a public lecture that helps the community reflect on the meaning of a liberal arts education.
I look forward to seeing you there.
