2008 Annual Meeting

INTENTIONAL LEARNING, UNSCRIPTED CHALLENGES
Knowledge and Imagination for an Interdependent World

Opening Night Forum:
Scientific Literacy and the Beautiful Basics of Science

Natalie Angier

Natalie Angier

Natalie Angier, Pulitzer-Prize winning science writer for The New York Times, is author of The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, a guide to scientific literacy.  Angier interviewed hundreds of scientists, asking them “What do you wish people knew about science? …[If you} had to name a half-dozen things that you wish everybody understood about your field, the six big, bold, canonical concepts that even today still bowl you over with their beauty, what would they be?”

About The Canon

The Canon is a joyride through the major scientific disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, geology, and astronomy. Along the way, we learn what is actually happening when our ice cream melts or our coffee gets cold, what our liver cells do when we eat a caramel, why the horse is an example of evolution at work, and how we're all really made of stardust. It's Lewis Carroll meets Lewis Thomas – a book that will enrapture, inspire, and enlighten.

Every sentence sparkles with wit and charm.  But there’s passion in there, too, and it all adds up to an intoxicating cocktail of fine science writing. -- Richard Dawkins

AAC&U’s Welcoming Reception

Wednesday, January 23, 8:30-10:00 p.m.
Please join us as we greet old friends and welcome new ones to AAC&U’s Annual Meeting.

New to AAC&U?
We especially welcome new AAC&U members and colleagues for whom this is their first Annual Meeting.   Please look for the “Welcome to AAC&U” sign where AAC&U Board members, staff, and others will be available to answer questions, make introductions, and provide information about our Annual Meeting.