Speakers

Dava Sobel, a former New York Times science reporter, is the author of Longitude (Walker 1995 and 2005, Penguin 1996), Galileo's Daughter (Walker 1999, Penguin 2000) and The Planets (Viking, 2005). In her thirty years as a science journalist she has written for many magazines, including Audubon, Discover, Life and The New Yorker, served as a contributing editor to Harvard Magazine and Omni, and co-authored five books, including Is Anyone Out There? with astronomer Frank Drake. (from Dava Sobel biography)

She has received numerous awards for her work. Both Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter have been transformed into plays, television dramas and documentaries. It is an honor to have Dava Sobel speak on the blending of science and storytelling.

As an added bonus, Dava Sobel will give another presentation to the general public at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 12 in the auditorium at Northeast State Technical Community College (NSTCC) in Blountville, TN. This is a wonderful addition to their Lyceum Lecture Series and is free to the public. The school is next to the TRI Airport in Blountville.

Friday: "Galileo as a Working Scientist."

Although Galileo was the father of modern science, he still had to scramble for funding, publish to establish the priority of his discoveries, and suffer the indignities of peer review. He even made mistakes.

Saturday: "Galileo's Beliefs."

The Galileo Affair defines the separation of Church and science, though Galileo himself was a practicing Catholic, and both his daughters were nuns. His trial and its outcome have implications for the interplay of science and faith today.