Sean Carroll“Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species”

SEAN B. CARROLL
Professor of Biological Science, U. Wisconsin-Madison

FREE • NO TICKET REQUIRED
Date: Thursday, March 19
Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: Fallon Theatre, FSU Fine Arts Building • map
Available via webcast

 

“Of all the scientists in the world today, there is no one with whom Charles Darwin would rather spend an evening than Sean Carroll." -- Michael Ruse, author of The Evolution-Creation Struggle, and professor of philosophy, Florida State University

Sean B. Carroll is a professor of molecular biology and genetics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as well as a distinguished writer of acclaimed, popular books on science. His research has centered on the genes that control animal body patterns and play major roles in the evolution of animal diversity. Major discoveries from his laboratory have been featured in TIME, US News & World Report, The New York Times, Discover, and Natural History.

Carroll is one of the rare scientists who is capable of translating his own and others' research into compelling reading for lay audiences. He is considered one of the best and most prolific science writers working today. Two of his most recent works—The Making of the Fittest (2006, W.W. Norton) and Endless Forms Most Beautiful (2005, W.W. Norton) will be the basis of a two-hour PBS special produced by WGBH's Nova series that will air in 2009 as a tribute to Darwin's 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Origin of Species.

Carroll's Endless Forms Most Beautiful has been lauded for its elucidation of the new science of "evo devo"—or evolutionary developmental biology. The science studies the fundamental (and phenomenal) processes that underlie the development and evolution of all life forms. "Evo devo" reportedly has become one of the hottest areas of study in biological science in the world, and Carroll's book has been cited as a "fascinating, lucid, surprising, and (in the truest sense) essential" introduction to this exciting new field.

Next year, Harcourt is set to publish Carroll’s forthcoming book, Remarkable Creatures: Epic Adventures in the Search for the Origins of Species. The book chronicles important discoveries from the past 200 years of research into natural history, and will serve as a foundation for Carroll's presentation March 19.

For more on Sean Carroll and his work, visit: www.seanbcarroll.com