Lecture Series History: 2022
In 2022, the Natural History Museum of Utah's annual Lecture Series explored the Nature of Color. Read on to learn more about the theme and speakers.
About the 2022 Lecture Series
In 2022, NHMU's Lecture Series was "inspired by color" when presented in conjunction with the special exhibition The Nature of Color.
The ability to interpret and analyze scientific concepts and trends is more important than ever. The lecture series serves to inspire and educate audiences with notable experts, thought leaders, and scientists. We are confident you’ll enjoy this year’s speakers.
2022 Speakers
Dr. Steven Pinker
Progress in a Time of the Pandemic
There’s no question that COVID has set humanity back: a global pandemic, reminders of racial injustice, threats to democracy, and economic challenges. Yet, despite the setbacks, we must not overlook the astonishing progress that humanity his made in health, wealth, happiness, peace, freedom, tolerance, and safety, argues Harvard psychologist and New York Times bestselling author Steven Pinker.
“Progress is invisible to most people because they don’t get their understanding of the world from numbers; they get it from headlines. Journalism by its very nature conceals progress, because it presents sudden events rather than gradual trends.” In other words, our newsfeed is not a representative picture of the world as a whole.
In this illuminating keynote, Pinker makes the case for reason, science, and humanism—while placing pandemics in the bigger picture of human history and biology—to shift our perspectives and better understand the world.
Read more about Steven Pinker on our blog.
Majora Carter
Green the Ghetto
With her inspired ideas and fierce persistence, Majora Carter managed to bring the South Bronx its first open-waterfront park in 60 years, and scored $1.25 million in federal funds for a greenway along the South Bronx waterfront. Learn about her efforts to "green the ghetto" and how we all deserve clean air and open space. Majora Carter is an urban revitalization strategist, MacArthur Fellow, and Peabody Award winning broadcaster.
Bren Smith
Sea Farming, Sustainability and the Future of Food
In this talk, Bren Smith looks at the relationship between agriculture and climate, explaining how he bridges land and sea farming to create a new model that brings a high yield with a low impact. Learn more about the exciting possibilities of 3D ocean farming, from fresh food sources and flavors to climate change protection and prevention. Bren Smith is a restorative ocean farmer, co-founder of GreenWave, and author of Eat Like a Fish.
Dr. Pearl Sandick
Searching for Light from Darkness
What holds the Universe together? Dark matter, the most abundant form of matter, is a mysterious substance that, despite decades of study, has remained elusive. The gravitational effects of dark matter are well understood, including the integral role it played in the formation of the Milky Way and other galaxies like it. But attempts to observe dark matter, apart from its gravitational effects, have thus far been unsuccessful or inconclusive. The nature of dark matter remains one of the most important outstanding puzzles in modern physics. There’s good reason to suspect that a breakthrough could be just around the corner, with far-reaching implications for our understanding of the Universe, its tiniest constituents, and even fundamental physics. Free event, but reservations are required.
2022 Series Sponsors
Founding Underwriter
R. Harold Burton Foundation
Underwriter
Cultural Vision Fund
Gold Sponsors
The M Lazy M Foundation
Rio Tinto Kennecott
Silver Sponsors
The 9990 Group | Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management
The DiFiore Family Foundation
Frog Bench Farms | Paula and Joe Sargetakis
Andrea and Paul Matlin
The Nature Conservancy
Wolf Clark Foundation
Community Partners
Clark Planetarium
The County Library | Viridian Event Center
Kingsbury Hall
Liberty Heights Fresh
Institutional Support
Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts & Parks