New York Times columnist and renowned author Carl Zimmer will be giving a lecture on his newest book, titled She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity, on March 7th at 5:30pm at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center. Free and open to all, a reception and book signing will follow the event.

In his lecture, Carl Zimmer will redefine heredity, weaving together historical and current scientific research, exemplary original reporting, and his own experience as a parent of two daughters. Introducing audiences to the not-too-distant future, Zimmer will explore the ways in which DNA editing with the powerful new tool CRISPR may change our world—and ourselves. He fearlessly examines controversial topics (Do races actually exist? Is success inherited?) in light of current advances in DNA analysis, and will discuss the ways in which heredity has historically been used to justify racism and social inequality. By challenging long-standing presumptions about heredity, Zimmer takes audiences on a journey of discovery about who we really are, where we came from, and what we can pass on to future generations.

Carl Zimmer is, in the words of The New York Times Book Review, “as fine a science essayist as we have.” He won the National Academies Communication Award and is a three-time winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Award. In addition, he was awarded the Stephen Jay Gould Prize, and the National Association of Biology Teachers gave him their Distinguished Service Award. Zimmer is a columnist for The New York Times and writes regularly for magazines such as National Geographic and Wired. He is also the author of thirteen widely praised books. His newest book, She Has Her Mother’s Laugh, was named a Notable Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review. It was also selected for Publisher’s Weekly Best Ten Books of 2018 and the 2018 shortlist for Baillie-Gifford Prize for Nonfiction. The Guardian named it the best science book of 2018.

Thursday, March 7, 5:30pm
Alice Campbell Alumni Center
601 S. Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, IL
View poster

Sponsored by the Department of History and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. Please contact us with any questions.